Help Us Take NICMA to the Next Step

What is NICMA?

What if we could learn more about sharks, rays and other marine animals simply by watching them swim? That is the idea behind NICMA – Non-Invasive Camera Motion Analysis. We are developing a system that uses underwater video to analyse how marine animals move and swim, with the aim of learning more about their energy use and physical condition — without catching or touching them. Over the past year, we have continued developing and testing the system with different species, including blue-spotted stingrays and butterfly rays. NICMA has also been presented internationally, including at a conference in Oman and at Sharks International in Sri Lanka, and will be presented at the European Elasmobranch Association Conference in October 2026. A German utility model for NICMA has also been registered.

What has happened since our first campaign?

Our first GoFundMe campaign one year ago unfortunately received no donations. But we decided to continue anyway. Since then, NICMA has been further developed, tested and improved, and we have learned a great deal from working with different animals and underwater datasets. Now we want to find out how accurately NICMA can measure movement and energy-related parameters and whether these measurements can become useful for scientific research. In the longer term, NICMA data could be combined with information such as diet, stable isotopes, environmental conditions and fisheries data to help researchers better understand changes in marine predator populations. We are not claiming that NICMA can already predict population trends — that is exactly what we want to investigate.

What will your support make possible?

We are now looking for €49,000 to support the next stage of development and scientific testing, including software development, additional species testing, field work and biological and energetic analyses. Every contribution helps: €25 can support video-data analysis, €50 can help with testing additional species, €100 can contribute to software development, €500 can help support field research, and €1,000 or more can make a significant contribution toward the validation work. We know that €49,000 is a large goal, but progress can begin long before we reach it. If you are interested in sharks, rays, marine conservation, underwater technology or independent scientific research, please consider donating or sharing our campaign. NICMA is no longer just an idea — now we want to find out how far it can go.