Mealworm protein for animal feed: Automating and optimising production.

人们迫切需要生产更可持续的蛋白质，其中一种方法是通过饲养昆虫来实现。与传统的肉类生产相比，昆虫的蛋白质含量高，环境足迹低得多。粉虫是一种通常被饲养作为动物饲料的昆虫，名为黄粉虫。目前，粉虫蛋白用于动物饲料的价格难以承受的瓶颈是生产成本。遇到的关键成本是原料和劳动力，因此该项目通过开发农业过程的自动化和测试不同的原料，将重点放在这两个领域。我们将研究粉虫的行为，并使用摄像头和热传感器来识别觅食时间，以及疾病或害虫的任何问题的早期预警。物联网传感器和机器视觉分析的组合将围绕昆虫的自然行为进行设计，使用相机和热传感器来支持繁殖、饲料和健康标记。我们将使用机器视觉分析高分辨率图像和昆虫饲养盘的视频，以识别甲虫向繁殖盘移动时的性别，估计生长，计数和量化运动模式。这些将决定最佳条件，幼虫的自然运动行为将被用来确定喂食的时间。当食物稀缺时，幼虫的自然运动行为会变慢。成像也将被用作识别病虫害潜在问题的早期预警系统。尽管昆虫蛋白比其他动物蛋白更可持续，但仍有改进之处，特别是在饲养昆虫的饲料方面，以避免使用可供人类食用或饲料制造商使用的饲料。我们将测试农作物生产的副产品，以及餐饮业的水果和蔬菜废弃物，确定最佳饲料，以实现粉虫的最佳生长和蛋白质含量。

There is a strong need to produce more sustainable protein and one way of doing this is by farming insects. Insects have a high protein content and a much lower environmental footprint than traditional meet production. One of the insect species that is commonly farmed for animal feed are the mealworms, _Tenebrio molitor_. Current bottlenecks for mealworm protein being affordable for use for animal feed is the cost of production. The key costs encountered are feedstock and labour, hence this project focuses on those two areas by developing automation for the farming process and testing different feedstocks. We will work with the mealworm behaviour and use cameras and heat sensors to identify time to feed as well as an early warning of any issues with disease or pests.Combination of IoT sensors and machine vision analysis will be designed around the insects' natural behaviour, using cameras and heat sensors to support breeding, feed and health markers. We will use machine vision analysis on high resolution images and video of insect rearing trays to identify the sex of the beetles as they move towards breeding trays, estimate growth, count and quantify movement patterns. These will determine optimum conditions and the larvae natural movement behaviour which slows down when food is scarce will be used to identify timing of feeds. Imaging will also be used as an early warning system to identify potential issues with pests and diseases.Although insect protein is more sustainable than other animal protein, there are still improvements that can be made, especially in the feedstock they are reared on to avoid using feed that could be used for human consumption or by the feed manufacturers and we will test co-products from crop production, and fruit and vegetable based waste from the catering industry, identifying the best feed for optimum mealworm growth and protein content.