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.
