The consequential problem
Nature & Environmental Monitoring
QUELL
Measuring underwater environments without adding more noise.
We developed Quiet Underwater Environmental Linear Lidar around a consequential question: where sound is part of the environmental problem, can light do the job instead?
Our approach
QUELL investigates non-acoustic underwater ranging. Instead of transmitting sound and listening for its return, we send pulses of light and analyze reflected photons.
How it works
A clear principle.
A system to test.
Environmental monitoring should not unnecessarily alter the environment being monitored.
- 01
Transmit
An optical architecture directs carefully selected light into the water.
- 02
Recover
The system searches for useful reflected photons amid absorption, scattering and ambient light.
- 03
Range
Timing and signal interpretation turn those returns into environmental measurements.
Evidencethrough action.
What we have investigated
An experimental program grounded in difficult physics
The project originated in response to a Transport Canada innovation challenge and was developed with scientific collaboration from TRIUMF.
We have investigated the physics, optical components and measurement approaches needed for non-acoustic underwater ranging. QUELL is not intended to replace sonar everywhere.
Where this could lead
Potential, conditional on the evidence.
These are possible applications and outcomes—not demonstrated results.
- Environmentally sensitive marine monitoring
- Shallow-water bathymetry, inspection and survey
- Marine research and autonomous platforms
- Operations where reducing acoustic disturbance has particular value
Current focus