IDBR: Instrumentation for in Situ Biodiversity Monitoring and Automatic Classification for Flying Insects

该奖项是为了开发用于远程计数和识别飞行昆虫的仪器。该仪器使用太阳能电池作为非常规传感器，记录由飞行昆虫的阴影或反射引起的光强度的快速波动。数字化信号将捕捉独特的“飞行特征”，其中包含光谱信息，可以对昆虫进行精确分类。该仪器被称为飞行活动特征识别技术（FAST-ID）。初步调查表明，它能够识别几种蚜虫、飞蛾和蚊子。该项目的主要目标包括开发必要的硬件和软件，以建立原型并充分展示这项技术。硬件设计和开发将生产具有嵌入式处理功能的独立单元，用于自动特征收集和远程无线通信。模块化设计将促进附加组件，如太阳能或增强型电池，外部红外照明和一套传感器，这些传感器提供额外的环境信息，这些信息将被标记为每个单独飞行特征的元数据。软件研究和开发将侧重于为更多物种或其他分类学分组的分类以及未知物种的自动聚类而设计的更强大的算法。软件开发还包括仪器的操作控制、基于服务器的实时处理和互联网报告。生物多样性知识对于明智地管理和利用地球资源是重要的。昆虫种群多样性提供了有关生态系统总体健康状况、污染和农药使用、森林砍伐后的恢复以及气候变化迹象的信息。该项目还将通过对学生的培训和支持，加强教育。此外，有一个明确的“新奇”的因素，这种仪器可能会吸引和激励儿童和成人。该仪器可以作为科学博物馆，动物园和K-12教室中令人兴奋的教育工具，作为环境科学推广计划的一部分。

This award is for the development of instrumentation for remotely counting and identifying flying insects. The instrument uses a solar cell as an unconventional sensor to record rapid fluctuations in light intensity caused by the shadow or reflection of a flying insect. Digitized signals will capture unique 'flight signatures' containing spectral information that allows precise classification of the insects. The instrumentation is referred to as Flight Activity Signature Technology for Identification (FAST-ID). Preliminary investigations have shown the ability to identify several species of aphids, moths, and mosquitoes. The main objectives of the project include hardware and software development necessary to prototype and fully demonstrate this technology. Hardware design and development will produce stand-alone units with embedded processing for automatic signature collection and long-range wireless communication. A modular design will facilitate add-on components such as solar power or enhanced batteries, external IR lighting, and a suite of sensors that provide additional environmental information that will be tagged as metadata specific to each individual flight signature. Software research and development will focus on more robust algorithms designed for classification of a greater number of species or other taxonomic groupings, as well as automatic clustering of unknown species. Software development also includes operational control of the instrumentation, server-based real-time processing, and internet reporting. Knowledge of biodiversity is important for wise management and use of the earth's resources. Insect population diversity provides information about the general health of ecosystems, pollution and pesticides use, recovery from deforestation and indication of climate change. This project will also have a strong educational component through student training and support. Furthermore, there is a clear 'novelty' factor to this instrumentation that may captivate and inspire children and adults. The instrument may be set up as an exciting education tool in science museums, zoos, and K-12 classrooms as part of an environmental-sciences outreach program.