The Challenge
Aquatic insects are vital indicators of water quality and ecosystem health, serving as critical components of freshwater ecosystems. However, existing insect identification tools focus primarily on terrestrial species, leaving a gap in the ability to classify aquatic insects efficiently. Citizen scientists and organizations needed a tool to identify and count key aquatic insect species to enhance ecosystem monitoring. This project aimed to explore the feasibility of such a tool using publicly available data.
The Solution
Accelvision collaborated with Synaptiq to conduct exploratory work, leveraging public datasets to develop and deploy a proof-of-concept solution:
- Developed an Image Classification System: Focused on identifying three key orders of aquatic insects—Trichoptera (Caddisflies), Ephemeroptera (Mayflies), and Plecoptera (Stoneflies)—in both nymph and adult life stages, achieving over 90% accuracy.
- Data Pipeline Implementation: Established processes for harvesting, preparing, and curating public data to train machine learning models effectively.
- Model Deployment on Smartphones: Delivered the classifier as a smartphone application, making it accessible for real-time identification and data collection in the field.
- Explored Scalability: Assessed the feasibility of expanding the classifier to the family level, laying the groundwork for further developments in aquatic insect identification.
Key Outcomes
- Feasibility Demonstrated: Confirmed the potential for using machine learning to classify aquatic insects with high accuracy.
- Accessible Field Tool: The smartphone application empowered citizen scientists and organizations with a practical tool for real-time identification.
- Data-Driven Insights: Highlighted the potential of public datasets for ecological research and monitoring.
- Scalability Potential: Established a foundation for advancing classification to finer taxonomic levels.
This exploratory project showcases Accelvision’s ability to leverage public data and advanced machine learning techniques to deliver innovative ecological solutions, empowering users to monitor and protect vital freshwater ecosystems.
