AI Is Keeping An Eye Out For Bugs

Monitoring stored crops for insects can be labor-intensive and expensive.  A California company is looking to change that with an AI-powered system that watches for pest activity around the clock.

AIVision aims to help growers protect commodities in storage.  Founder and CEO John Pan said the biggest advantage is early detection.

“It's very difficult to know when the insect starts. So with this kind of technology, you will know it right away," Pan said.  "And so that means we have the early detection. Then people can take actions early. That will reduce the chemical use. At the same time, because that's not needed to have people to go there to check insects, save a lot of the labors.”

That early detection, Pan noted, is made possible through an AI-powered monitoring system that automatically identifies insect activity.

“So we have the camera. And we take photos," Pan continued.  "Then we wirelessly send the image to the cloud. Then we use AI to identify them. This is more or less their similarity to the home security system. Now you see what is going on. And it also helps the pest control to decide what kind of chemicals they want to use based on the type of the insects. Because they can visually see it. And also, the AI will identify them and tell them.”

The technology developed at UC Davis and now moving into commercial use, is designed to give growers real-time visibility into pest activity.

Click Here to learn more about AIVision.

If you have a story idea for the PNW Ag Network, call (509) 547-9791, or e-mail glenn.vaagen@townsquaremedia.com