Successful ANERIS workshop on Underwater Imaging, Bio-optic, and Participatory Technologies

On December 2nd and 4th, 2024, the Horizon Europe-funded ANERIS project organized two workshop sessions endorsed by the United Nations' initiative Ocean Decade to introduce the public to the different technologies and tools developed within the ANERIS project. These sessions, orchestrated by Euro-BioImaging, France BioImaging and Israel BioImaging were appreciated by a wide audience and are today available on YouTube.

The ANERIS project is an EU-Funded project that aims to tackle the rapid loss of ocean biodiversity by developing innovative tools and technology to monitor, research and manage marine life, introducing the concept of Operational Marine Biology (OMB). OMB is a biodiversity information system which allows long-term routine measurements of ocean and coastal ecosystems and their quick interpretation and dissemination to all relevant stakeholders.

Making marine research more efficient and sustainable

In December 2024, ANERIS engaged in one such initiative. Project partners from Euro-BioImaging, France Bioimaging, and Israel BioImaging organized a public imaging workshop entitled "Underwater Imaging, Bio-optic, and Participatory Technologies," drawing substantial attendance and garnering positive feedback from citizen scientists, students, and young researchers.

Endorsed by the United Nations' initiative Ocean Decade and conducted in two sessions (on December 2nd and December 4th), the workshop attracted about 150 participants from various corners of the globe. It brought together specialists in underwater imaging and general image analysis and processing to learn about these advancements, offer feedback for validating methods and technologies, and aid in disseminating project developments to the broader community.

Workshop themes & speakers

The first session on December 2nd started with an introduction to the ANERIS project, presented by project coordinator Jaume Piera from CSIC. The workshop also garnered interest from the EU-funded AQUARIUS project, which requested a slot to introduce their initiative through project coordinator Aodhan Fitzgerald (the Marine Institute) and highlight the current transnational access opportunity. On a more technical note, Simon Korman from the University of Haifa showcased the Automatic Underwater Image Restoration System, while Perrine Paul Gilloteaux from CNRS presented a tool for detecting and characterizing macro-organisms in underwater images. Finally, Alex Tarragon from DRIBBA explored the advanced multiplatform application for marine life reporting developed as part of the ANERIS project.

Screenshots from the first session

The second session on December 4th also began with introductions to the ANERIS and AQUARIUS projects before transitioning to the technical presentations. Alex Alcocer from OsloMet showcased the Expandable multi-Imaging underwater acquisition system. Cristina Palomares from MARSBASED introduced the Minka platform, an adaptive web interface for marine life reporting, sharing, and consulting, emphasizing its potential to engage citizens in science and biodiversity monitoring and preservation. Following this, Marc Pickerel from the Institut de la Mer de Villefranche presented an automatic information extraction system for zooplankton images developed within the ANERIS project. Finally, Andreu Fornors from QUANTA introduced participants to the advanced marine observations validation and identification system based on hybrid intelligence.

Screenshots from the second session

A productive initiative

The workshop series proved to be an outstanding experience, offering an in-depth overview of the various tools and technologies developed under the ANERIS project and their potential applications for more sustainable and efficient monitoring of marine and coastal ecosystems. The speakers demonstrated exceptional expertise, delivering valuable insights that deeply engaged the participants. The overwhelmingly positive feedback highlights the success of the sessions and a strong interest in future workshops.

For those who couldn't attend the live workshops, the presentation slides can be accessed on Zenodo, and the recorded sessions are compiled into a playlist on the Euro-BioImaging YouTube channel.