Communications of the ACM
Saving Crops and People With Bug Sensors
A new method of classifying the species of insects with up to 99-percent accuracy could help farmers better protect their crops, and limit the spread of insect-borne diseases.
Credit: weter 777/Shutterstock
University of California, Riverside (UCR) researchers have developed a method that can classify different species of insects with up to 99-percent accuracy, which could help farmers protect their crops from insect damage and limit the spread of insect-borne diseases.
The researchers created an inexpensive wireless sensor that can track insect flight behavior patterns and generate much larger amounts of data that can be incorporated into classification algorithms. The researchers say they have collected tens of millions of data points, more than all previous work in this field combined.
"We have created insect classification tools that can outperform the world's top entomologists in a fraction of the time," says UCR professor Eamonn Keogh.
Their method includes an optical sensor and phototransistor array connected to an electronic board and a laser pointing at the array. When the insect passes across the laser beam, its wings partially block the light, causing a small light fluctuation. This is captured by the phototransistor array as changes in current, and the signal is then filtered and amplified by the custom-designed electronic board.
The researchers say the success rate could be improved by adding additional variables, such as the height at which the insects fly and environmental variables such as temperature and humidity.
From UCR Today
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