I-Corps: BassInSight: Determining the economic value and market potential for estimating bass visual perception

该项目的目标是创建一种技术来协助 1) 鱼饵选择、2) 鱼饵开发和销售以及 3) 生态管理。 最初的重点是大口黑鲈，这是美国最受欢迎的运动鱼（估计有 12-1800 万钓鱼者）。 然而，基础技术将适用于许多其他鱼类和水生动物。 对于钓鱼者（用户群#1）来说，鱼饵的选择对于成功和享受至关重要。 由于鱼类的视觉与人类截然不同，而且它们的视觉感知会根据照明环境和栖息地的不同而发生巨大变化，因此人眼无法预测鲈鱼如何感知鱼饵。 为了改善钓鱼体验，I-Corps 团队将创建一个应用程序，允许垂钓者估计给定诱饵在给定环境中对鲈鱼的表现，并估计鲈鱼可以看到诱饵的最大距离。 对于诱饵制造商（用户群#2）来说，该技术可用于开发针对特定栖息地的具有已知感知水平的诱饵，不仅可以提高诱饵的成功率，还可以增加显着的营销优势。 在动物管理和保护领域（用户群＃3），该技术最终有望更好地了解各种物种之间的感知，从而制定更好的决策和实践来保护和增强生态系统。休闲钓鱼是一个价值数十亿美元的产业，而大口黑鲈是钓鱼者最受欢迎的目标。据估计，每年仅在鱼竿、绕线轮、钓具箱等方面的花费就达 61 亿美元。另外 1 亿美元则用于购买钓鱼杂志、书籍和 DVD。每年有 1,120 万人捕捞黑鲈，另有 730 万人捕捞相关翻车鱼品种。目前，该团队还不知道市场上有任何产品采用科学方法来估计鲈鱼如何感知环境中的物体，或者使用鱼类视觉能力的知识库来制作有效的诱饵。参与 I-Corps 计划将使团队能够从多个角度调查市场。该团队将了解鱼饵和诱鱼产品从制造商到休闲市场领域用户的渠道。该团队还需要与所有类型的休闲钓鱼者以及商业渔民建立联系。如果鱼可以根据其视觉系统的知识通过特定的诱饵来捕获，这可能意味着在商业环境中使用鱼类特定的诱饵系统可以消除各种非目标物种的聚集，即副渔获物，从而防止通过所使用的捕鱼方法收集到所需鱼以外的鱼，然后将其作为废物丢弃的情况。在项目结束时，团队将决定获得 SBIR 是否有用，并深入了解用于商业市场进入的业务实体或许可策略。

The goal of this project is to create a technology to assist in 1) fish lure selection, 2) lure development and sales, and 3) ecological management. The initial focus is on largemouth bass, the most popular sportfish in the United States (an estimated 12-18 million anglers). The underlying technology, however, will be applicable to many other fish species and aquatic animals. For the angler (user base #1), lure selection is critical to success and enjoyment. Because fish see quite differently than humans, and their visual perception varies dramatically depending on lighting environments and habitat, the human eye cannot predict how bass will perceive a lure. To improve the fishing experience, this I-Corps team will create an application that allows anglers to estimate how a given lure appears to bass in a given environment, and estimates the maximum distance at which a bass can see the lure. For the lure manufacturer (user base #2), the technology can be used to develop lures with known levels of perception targeted for specific habitats?not only increasing the success of the lures but also adding significant marketing advantages. In the field of animal management and conservation (user base #3), the technology ultimately promises a greater understanding of perception among a variety of species, leading to better decisions and practices to preserve and enhance ecosystems.Recreational angling is a multi-billion dollar industry, and largemouth bass are the most popular target for anglers. An estimated $6.1 billion is spent annually just on rods, reels, tackle boxes, etc. Another $100 million is spent on fishing magazines, books, and DVDs. 11.2 million people fish for black bass annually, and another 7.3 million fish for related sunfish species. At this time the team is not aware of any product on the market that take a scientific approach to estimating how bass perceive objects in their environment, or that use the knowledge base of fish vision capabilities to make effective lures. Participation in the I-Corps program will enable the team to investigate the market from many viewpoints. The team will learn what channels lures and fish attraction products take from manufacture to user in the recreational market area. The team also needs to connect with all types of recreational anglers, as well as commercial fisherman. If fish can be caught by specific lures based on the knowledge of their visual systems, it could mean that using fish specific lure systems in a commercial setting could eliminate the gathering of non-target species of all kinds, called the by-catch, preventing the situation in which fish other than those desired are collected via the fishing methods used, and then discarded as waste. At the end of the project, the team will decide if a SBIR would be useful to obtain, and also gain insight into what business entity or license strategy to use for commercial market entry.