Agtech startup Bug Bug has launched a smaller, cheaper version of its AI pest detector, which listens for the sounds insects make inside crops, cutting the cost of the full kit from about US$800 to about US$100, AgNavigator reported.
The system uses contact microphones and artificial intelligence to pick up insect activity, aiming to replace scouting methods that can be inaccurate and damage plants. Today workers often inspect crops by hand and cut plants open to find pest damage. The new price includes the processing hardware, the microphones and a solar panel.
The laboratory prototype was about the size of an A4 sheet; the commercial trial-ready version fits in the palm of a hand and captures a wider range of insect sounds. "Everything has been ruggedised, miniaturised and made more modular to support real-world deployment," said co-founder and chief executive Jadey Huray. It made its debut at the Asia Pacific Agri-Food Innovation Summit in Singapore.
Its first field test will be a year-long commercial trial in Indonesian sugarcane, covering 96 samples of cane across six fields, to detect boring insects. Huray said the trial would show how well the system can replace or supplement manual scouting amid the noise of a working farm.
The company is also negotiating its first commercial trial in Europe, where tighter scrutiny of crop protection products is raising demand for independent evidence that a treatment works. Measuring pests before and after spraying could give growers and crop protection companies that proof. Apple orchards, where earlier tests were encouraging, are among the next targets.
The team includes chief technology officer Laurence Still, an AI specialist, and entomologist Dr Emily Bick.
Source: AgNavigator
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