This cannon was built to safely transport what?

Man-made barriers, like dams, in waterways may be great for humans, but they’re not so great for the animals that live in those waterways. That’s why Seattle-based Whooshh Innovations built the viral “salmon cannon” a couple of years ago. Similar to hyperloop technology, their system involved a long tube that gently, but quickly, transported fish around barriers and safely back into the water.

Now, Whooshh is back with a new and improved salmon cannon. In the original version, humans had to get in the water with the fish, catching and examining them before feeding them manually into the tube. But the new Whooshh Passage Portal relies on automation to remove all human interaction with the fish. When the fish enter the system, it takes 18 high-definition photos that are then analyzed by an AI.

That AI, called the FishL Recognition system, looks at the photos to determine the fish’s size and species, as well as if its wild, from a hatchery or an invasive species. It can also tell if the fish is injured. All of this happens in just a few seconds, after which the fish is routed down the appropriate tube based on the AI’s conclusions.