A Tall Tail

Aug 1, 2008 12:00 PM, By Stephanie Silk

The various cameras currently monitoring Lake Storsjön, a 300-foot-deep lake in Jämtland, Sweden, use video analytics to watch for Storsjöodjuret, or the Great Lake Sea Monster.

The story of Storsjöodjuret, believed to be a sea creature similar to the more familiar Loch Ness Monster, dates back more than 400 years. A legend tells of two trolls boiling a mixture in a kettle on the shores of Lake Storsjön. Suddenly, a strange black serpent-like creature with a cat-like head jumped out of the kettle and into the water.

Today there are some 200 documented witness reports from more than 500 people who say they have seen Storsjöodjuret. One of those witnesses includes a member of the Company Association in Svenstavik. A couple of years ago, he was fishing on the lake on a quiet and serene evening when, on the left side of the boat, something came on top of the water that looked like a log — but was diving in and out of the water.

Descriptions of the monster vary from it being 45 feet in length with humps and a small head to almost 10 feet long with short thick feet, a large head and round eyes. The man's story told of a dark, brown creature with light spots.

He told this story to another member of the Company Association, Curt Johnsson, who took the man's story very seriously. “After this happened to him, his staff didn't recognize him — he was acting different,” Johnsson says. “Before this man's story, I didn't believe it. But why would someone like that lie?”

To help prove that what the man saw was reality, the Local Municipality of Bergs Community teamed up with Company Association. Their idea was to install cameras underwater and at the surface of the lake to catch any suspicious activity. But Johnsson knew that even a full staff hired to watch constant streams of video would face a daunting task. He suggested the lake follow the lead of his store, ICA Supermarket, which he owns. To monitor activity, the store has deployed Aimetis Symphony video management and analytic software from Aimetis Corp., Ontario, Canada.

After being financially approved to install the cameras with video analytics (an $85,000 project), the cameras were installed with the help of Swedish systems integrator UTS. Aimetis Symphony was installed on several cameras both above and below Lake Storsjön.

VGA cameras are installed underwater, a surface-level thermal vision camera can catch the monster through fog, snow, rain and in total darkness and there are various other cameras looking in all directions including those aimed at other cameras to ensure their operation is not compromised.

If Aimetis Symphony detects potential Storsjöodjuret movement, it sends an automatic e-mail containing a photo to municipality and association members so the activity can be verified.

Johnsson says the goal of the project is to simply get a picture of the monster — not to capture it. “We want to prove it exists, but protect it because we believe whatever it is, is endangered,” he says.

Although there are always skeptics in Sweden that Storsjöodjuret exists, he says curiosity is apparent from the number of hits to a Web site where the public can view streaming pictures and monitor possible monster activity. “There are 300 to 400 hits per day, and that will grow once we translate the Web site into English.”

“It's obviously not the typical application for video analytics or video management,” says Bethany Moir, marketing manager with Aimetis Corp. “But at same time, it's a good example of how well our video analytics can work, by distinguishing between a big fish and debris in sea,” she says. “It's a great story to tell, because the imagination is endless for these various applications of technology.”

How long are they willing to wait to capture Storsjöodjuret on video? “We'll keep this up as long as it takes — 100 years,” Johnsson laughs. “Once we see something, we can show it to the press and be world famous.”

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