The battery life of underwater aquaculture cameras is not determined solely by "battery capacity"; instead, it is the result of the combined effects of device power consumption, operating mode, environmental conditions, and power supply method. The specific analysis can be expanded from the following aspects:
The power consumption of underwater cameras is mainly concentrated in three core modules, and their operating status directly affects the battery life duration. In terms of the imaging and fill light module, high-definition resolution (such as 4K) and high frame rate (such as 60fps) imaging modes significantly increase power consumption. For example, the power consumption of a 4K camera is usually 30%-50% higher than that of a 1080P camera. The fill light function (especially the high-brightness mode) is even a "major power consumer" — when white light fill is turned on, power consumption may double instantly. If continuous fill light is required (such as for nighttime monitoring), the battery life will be greatly shortened. The power consumption difference of the transmission module is also obvious: the power consumption of wireless transmission (such as 4G/5G, WiFi) is much higher than that of wired transmission (such as network cables, coaxial cables). Wireless transmission needs to maintain a signal connection continuously, and the longer the transmission distance and the larger the data volume (such as real-time high-definition images), the higher the power consumption. In contrast, wired transmission only requires low power consumption to maintain data interaction, putting less pressure on battery life. In addition, cameras equipped with functions such as AI recognition (e.g., fry counting), water quality sensors (e.g., dissolved oxygen detection), and automatic cleaning (e.g., lens brushes) will have increased power consumption due to additional computing power or mechanical operation. For instance, when real-time AI analysis is enabled, power consumption may increase by 20%-40%.
The battery life of cameras can vary by several times or even dozens of times under different operating modes. The real-time continuous operation mode requires 24/7 uninterrupted shooting and image transmission, which is suitable for scenarios that require real-time monitoring (such as nighttime monitoring during the seedling stage), but has the shortest battery life. If a regular lithium battery (10,000mAh) is used, it may only last 8-12 hours in 4K + fill light mode. The timed wake-up operation mode runs at set intervals (e.g., waking up for 1 minute every 10 minutes for shooting and transmission), and remains in a low-power sleep state at other times. This mode can reduce power consumption by 60%-80%, and the battery life can be extended to 2-3 days with the same battery capacity, making it suitable for regular monitoring that does not require high real-time performance (such as observing the growth of adult fish). The triggered operation mode is activated by sensors (such as infrared sensing, motion detection) and only wakes up the device when fish school activities or abnormalities are detected. The power consumption is close to zero during sleep, and the battery life can last up to 1-2 weeks, which is suitable for unattended long-distance monitoring (such as in deep-sea cages).
The particularity of the underwater environment indirectly affects battery life, a factor that is easily overlooked but crucial. In terms of water temperature, a low-temperature environment (such as pond water temperature below 5℃ in winter) reduces the activity of lithium batteries, leading to a 15%-30% decrease in actual capacity. For example, a 10,000mAh battery may only exert 7,000-8,500mAh of its capacity in a low-temperature environment. A high-temperature environment (such as surface water temperature above 30℃ in summer) accelerates battery aging and shortens battery life with long-term use. In terms of water pressure and corrosion, although the waterproof and pressure-resistant design does not directly consume electricity, if the device has slight water seepage due to poor sealing, it may cause the circuit to get damp and abnormal power consumption to increase, indirectly shortening the battery life. In addition, electrochemical corrosion in the seawater environment may affect the contact efficiency of the power supply interface and increase power supply losses.
The power supply method is the core that determines the upper limit of battery life, and the battery life varies greatly between different solutions. The built-in lithium battery has strong portability and is suitable for mobile cameras (such as ROV inspections), but its battery life is limited by capacity. A regular capacity (5,000-20,000mAh) can only support it for several hours to several days, and the device needs to be retrieved for charging, making it unsuitable for long-term fixed monitoring. The external power supply (shore power/floating platform power supply) is connected to the onshore power supply or floating platform power supply system via cables, which can theoretically achieve "unlimited battery life" and is suitable for fixed-installation cameras (such as those around ponds and cage brackets). However, it is limited by the wiring distance (usually no more than 100 meters), and precautions need to be taken to prevent cables from being damaged by water flow and fishing gear. The combination of solar energy + energy storage battery uses solar panels to charge during the day and energy storage batteries to supply power at night, which is suitable for remote scenarios without shore power access (such as offshore cages). Its battery life depends on lighting conditions — it can achieve 24/7 continuous operation on sunny days, and relies on the capacity of the energy storage battery (usually lasting 3-7 days) on cloudy and rainy days.
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