Radmantis, a blue tech firm specializing in underwater vision, embedded systems, and automation for aquatic monitoring, aquaculture, and energy infrastructure, is behind this innovation. Credit: Radmantis Inc.
The validation study took place at the Verdantas Flow Labs hydraulics facility in Holden, Massachusetts, featuring the Radmantis monitoring station and a live underwater video feed on the right. Credit: Radmantis Inc.
A U.S. DOE-funded validation study advances real-time fish monitoring, enabling hydropower operators to balance clean energy generation with healthy river ecosystems.
This validation shows that smart underwater imaging can make hydropower structures both more sustainable and responsive to ecosystem needs.”— Dr. Robert Huber, CTO, RadmantisTOLEDO, OH, OH, UNITED STATES, September 27, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Radmantis, a blue technology company that develops intelligent underwater biosecurity monitoring systems, has completed a hydropower research validation study. The system reconstructed fish species composition with 99% accuracy and detected fish with 95.5% reliability (mAP50) even under complex, high-density movement conditions.
This research validation was carried out in collaboration with the Hydropower Testing Network (HyTN), ENERGYWERX in partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy's Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO), and Verdantas, a leading company in hydraulic engineering and fish passage design.
"Hydropower is essential to our renewable energy goals, but maintaining fish passage is critical to preserving aquatic biodiversity," said Dan Giza, Department Lead for Aquatic Resource and Bioengineering at Verdantas Flow Labs. "This collaboration brings new, data-driven tools to better inform fish passage decisions and conservation efforts aimed at protecting endangered species while enabling better management of invasive ones."
While hydropower delivers reliable, carbon-free electricity, dams can interrupt river connectivity and impact the movement of migratory fish between upstream and downstream habitats. Operators must reconcile energy production with ecological and regulatory demands concerning fish passage, species protection, and aquatic ecosystem stewardship.
Radmantis' monitoring platform tackles this challenge by employing embedded underwater vision, AI-based inference, and industrial automation to detect and classify fish as they travel through aquatic environments. The species-level data it generates can support environmental compliance in population assessment, native species preservation, and invasive species control.
Verdantas Flow Labs conducted the two-month validation study at the Alden Campus hydraulics laboratory in Holden, Massachusetts. Researchers used varying combinations of rainbow and brown trout because their similar appearance created a rigorous test of the platform's ability to distinguish individual fish, even in dense groups. Using a held-out validation set, the platform achieved 95.5% detection performance (mAP50), with 89.8% precision and 90.0% recall.
Across 40 single-blind trials, Verdantas knew the actual species composition while Radmantis analyzed the underwater video independently without that information. The platform reconstructed the brown-to-rainbow mix with 99% accuracy, matching the true composition exactly in 36 of 40 trials and coming within 5 fish in the remaining trials.
"This validation shows that smart underwater imaging can make hydropower structures both more sustainable and responsive to ecosystem needs," said Dr. Robert Huber, Technology Lead at Radmantis. "By providing clear, continuous insight into fish passage, we're helping operators balance clean energy production with healthy river systems."
The capacity to identify species within dense, visually complex settings goes beyond basic fish counting. Since each hydropower site has different species of concern, continuous monitoring can give operators more actionable data to manage native and migratory populations, detect invasive species, and satisfy environmental requirements.
Radmantis is also deploying related technology on the Colorado River to support invasive species control and native fish recovery efforts.
With the HyTN validation study now complete, Radmantis is looking for partnership opportunities with hydropower operators and research institutions to continue development and field validation across additional species and operating environments.
About Radmantis
Radmantis is a blue tech company pioneering underwater imaging, embedded vision and automation systems for aquatic monitoring, aquaculture and energy infrastructure. Its technologies deliver real-time analytics to support sustainable operations, ecosystem resilience and environmental compliance in aquatic and marine environments. For more information, visit www.radmantis.com.
About Verdantas
Verdantas is a leader in digitally enabled technical consulting solutions for the environment, water and energy transition markets. With more than 2,700 professionals nationwide, Verdantas helps clients solve complex environmental and engineering challenges. Its Flow Labs facility is recognized for fish passage design, research and development supporting hydropower and river infrastructure projects. For more information, visit www.verdantas.com.
About ENERGYWERX and the Hydropower Testing Network (HyTN)
ENERGYWERX administers the Hydropower Testing Network in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Energy's Water Power Technologies Office. The program connects technology developers with leading testing facilities to validate innovative solutions that improve hydropower performance, strengthen environmental stewardship and support a more reliable, resilient electric grid.
Media Resources
High-resolution images, partner logos, and video are available for editorial use with credit.
Species tracking – baseline: Real-time detection and tracking of individual trout moving through the field of view.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/157Z8agq7nIf-OdsUg6CO_qW4zeD_mSWu/view?usp=drive_link
Species tracking – high-density scene: Tracking individual trout through a dense, visually complex group, tracing each fish's path over time with a visual trail.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-_8zIVasrHQ-ruFxU7jYZdZ4CH6XVHie/view?usp=drive_link
Full press kit (logo, high-resolution assets, captions and credits): https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rsEMtAFWS9p7sryPE9M1XNcRdciNcykS/view?usp=drive_link
Credit: Radmantis Inc. Please contact us for additional footage, high-resolution images or interviews.
Media Contact:
Dr. Moira van Staaden
Radmantis
mvs@radmantis.com
+1-419-902-6109
https://radmantis.com/press/
Moira van Staaden
Radmantis
+1 419-902-6109
mvs@radmantis.com
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AI Fish Species Identification: Real-Time Trout Tracking – complex | Radmantis
