London’s Royal College of Art (RCA) is ranked number one in the world for art and design producing some of the most exciting and innovative problem-solvers on the planet.
In the first of two Q&As with RCA students, Sven Winkler von Stiernhielm tells us about Ziwa Vision, his solution for making fishing more sustainable.
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Can you describe your project?
My project is called Ziwa Vision, Ziwa meaning lake in Swahili. Ziwa Vision is a hardware and computer vision system that introduces an intelligent way to feed farmed fish more sustainably.
The device I developed attaches to fish farming enclosures and alerts farmers to stop providing feed at the optimal time, saving natural resources and money, reducing water pollution and improving fish health.
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Why did you decide to focus on this innovation?
Whilst working in Tanzania for an insect farming company, I learnt that aquaculture is the fastest growing food sector globally. Without necessary innovation, current fish farming practices could devastate aquatic ecosystems.
Overfeeding and underfeeding of fish results in major economic losses and environmental damage, both from water pollution and production of the feed itself. I spoke to Tilapia fish farmers worldwide, who struggle with over/underfeeding 35% of the time. Tilapia is eaten by more people globally than salmon, cod, trout and bass combined.
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What’s the story behind Ziwa Vision?
To identify drivers of feeding inefficiency, I collaborated with companies worldwide and worked in Kenya with Victory Farms, East Africa’s largest fish producer. It turns out determining the ideal time to stop feeding is far from obvious.
I’m grateful to the expansive network of academics and engineers who helped me pinpoint technologies I could adapt to overcome this challenge. Iterating concepts and testing device interaction with feeding teams, aquaculture managers and this network was fundamental in developing Ziwa Vision. The final system can cost effectively optimise fish farming by improving the evaluation of fish feeding behaviour via machine learning analysis.
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How important was your programme at the RCA to developing your practice?
Coming from a scientific background, the Innovation Design Engineering MSc/MA gave me a more transdisciplinary understanding of innovation.
The RCA has a brilliant community of experts in diverse fields, from robotics to behavioural design. Being able to learn from a wide range of disciplines was a major influence on my practice and equipped me to develop my project with a holistic approach.
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What areas do you want to explore next?
Developing technologies to help sustainably feed a growing population is a core aspiration of mine. We will need to produce 60% more food to feed the world by 2050.
Aquaculture holds huge potential to produce protein more sustainably and I’m interested to explore how satellite imagery can be utilised. I’m also inspired by companies working in alternative proteins, such as fungi and water lentils.
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How can people/organisations collaborate with you?
I’m excited to be working in venture building after RCA and I hope to continue collaborating with innovators across food production and sustainable use of natural materials. Please reach me on LinkedIn.
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Tomorrow, in the second of our Q&As with RCA’s emerging young innovators, we will hear from Caini Iris Liu, who believes in improving human-object relationships to enhance creative processes. She will explain the role her innovation, Scribe Expert, plays in this, a clever AI powered clip that attaches to paper, digitalising and organising ‘messy’ note taking into clear and concise text.
Discover more about RCA’s MA/MSc Innovation Design Engineering and MA/MSc Global Innovation Design programmes.
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