FarmSense Introduces Award-Winning Smart Pest Monitoring System

FarmSense has launched its smart pest monitoring system that will help farmers improve their insect monitoring and crop management system.

FREMONT, CA: FarmSense has announced the launch of its award-winning smart pest monitoring system. This system will help the farmers embrace the new technologies available in artificial intelligence and analytics to enhance their insect monitoring and crop management system.

FarmSense's FlightSensor makes use of a novel optical sensor technology that can automate the procedure of real-time insect classification and counting. Therefore, it offers instant access to farmers to make mission-critical decisions on crop and pest control.

According to Dr. Mark Hoddle, a field entomologist and an early customer at the University of California Riverside, "FarmSense's technology is a real game-changer. The insect analytics they provide allows me to really understand what is happening in specific areas of the orchard in near real-time. Better yet, the data are accessible via my phone and downloadable for analysis making quick decisions easy."

Initially, the smart system started as an academic collaboration, but its co-founders Eamonn Keogh and Shailendra Singh, quickly recognized its advantages in real-world applications. Keogh says, "The machine learning community examines data in so many other areas, like healthcare and credit scoring, but surprisingly, no one was tackling entomology. This technology virtually eliminates the need for sticky traps and manual insect counts."

The FarmSense monitoring system helps the farmers decrease pesticide usage and insecticide by improving their application in both space and time. Moreover, the data is also sent to the FarmSense cloud through wireless technology. The sensor is available in various sizes, and the algorithm can be modified depending on the type of insects a farmer has to monitor.

For developing such advanced technology, the team received $7.5 million in academic funding and several Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Awards, the Vodafone Wireless Innovation Award, and numerous National Science Foundation Awards The organization was also awarded three SBIR awards for commercializing their technology.