An apparatus for automatically capturing images of mosquito adult mosquitoes

Abstract

This invention discloses a device for automatically acquiring images of adult mosquitoes, comprising a housing, an industrial camera, a main control module, a GPS antenna, a 4G antenna, a wireless communication module, and a power supply. The housing contains a water storage chamber, a sticky trapping chamber, and an equipment chamber, all separated from each other. The water storage chamber holds the attracting water source, the sticky trapping chamber contains a sticky paper placement structure, and the equipment chamber houses the main control module, GPS antenna, 4G antenna, wireless communication module, and power supply. The industrial camera is positioned between the equipment chamber and the sticky trapping chamber, facing the imaging area of ​​the sticky paper placement structure, and is used to acquire images of the trapped adult mosquitoes. The main control module controls image acquisition according to a preset time or time interval and uploads image data and related acquisition information via the wireless communication module. This invention achieves automated acquisition of adult mosquito images through a combined design of water attraction, sticky paper capture, fixed-distance imaging, and wireless transmission.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of vector-borne disease monitoring and control technology, and in particular to an automated mosquito image acquisition and transmission device based on wireless communication, which is mainly used for the automated acquisition, remote transmission and storage of Aedes albopictus adult mosquito image data. Background Technology

[0002] In the field of vector-borne disease surveillance and public health control, the Aedes albopictus mosquito, as a major vector for major infectious diseases such as dengue fever, makes the monitoring of its population density and distribution patterns of significant epidemiological importance. Traditional Aedes albopictus surveillance mainly relies on manually placing mosquito traps or carbon dioxide lamps in the field, followed by regular collection by professionals and manual counting in the laboratory. This method is not only resource-intensive and time-consuming, but also suffers from data acquisition delays, and manual readings are highly susceptible to subjective factors and errors.

[0003] With the development of image acquisition, embedded control, and wireless communication technologies, mosquito monitoring equipment is gradually moving towards automation and informatization. Existing automatic monitoring devices typically acquire mosquito samples through trapping structures and record data using image acquisition or sensing modules. However, in the complex and variable environments of the actual field, existing automatic monitoring devices still have the following technical shortcomings:

[0004] Existing automated trapping devices mostly rely on negative pressure suction from fans or chemical attractants (such as attractants, dry ice, etc.). Prolonged operation of fans leads to high power consumption, which is difficult to meet the needs of long-term monitoring in the field; while chemical attractants are prone to volatilization and moisture absorption in the field environment, requiring frequent manual replacement and resulting in high maintenance costs.

[0005] Aedes albopictus mosquitoes exhibit an ecological tendency to lay their eggs in small, stagnant water environments. Existing electronic devices often struggle to securely integrate water-attracting structures and electronic components into a single device. Image feature extraction from these tiny mosquitoes places high demands on the imaging plane, shooting distance, and lighting conditions. Some existing monitoring devices utilize three-dimensional trapping nets or curved adhesive inner walls, resulting in random and varying mosquito landing positions. This can easily lead to localized out-of-focus areas, edge distortion, or blurred features in fixed-focus cameras, thus affecting subsequent manual or machine vision identification.

[0006] Some existing devices lack scientific power management logic and independent wireless communication modules, often requiring constant operation and having short battery life, which cannot meet the needs of long-term unmanned automated monitoring in the field.

[0007] In summary, the field still needs a long-term automated monitoring device with a reasonable structure, low maintenance cost, and the ability to attract mosquitoes using their water-attracting behavior and provide a flat and stable imaging area. Designing a device that can achieve physical isolation between the water-attracting area and the electronic component area, improve the clarity and stability of adult mosquito image acquisition under fixed focal length conditions, and possess low-power timed acquisition and transmission capabilities are technical problems that need to be solved by those skilled in the art. Summary of the Invention

[0008] The purpose of this invention is to address the shortcomings of existing technologies by providing a device for automatically acquiring images of adult mosquitoes. This device employs a three-chamber structure, separating a water storage chamber, a trapping chamber, and a device chamber, integrating an industrial camera, main control module, GPS antenna, 4G antenna, wireless communication module, and power supply within a single housing. The water storage chamber provides an attraction water source, the adhesive paper placement plate provides a flat and stable trapping and imaging area, and the main control module enables timed image acquisition and transmission. This design helps reduce the risk of moisture or liquid contact with electronic components, improves the stability of mosquito image acquisition under fixed focal length conditions, and reduces the frequency of manual inspection and maintenance.

[0009] The specific technical solution for achieving the objective of this invention is as follows:

[0010] A device for automatically collecting images of adult mosquitoes is characterized by comprising a housing, an industrial camera, a main control module, a GPS antenna, a 4G antenna, a wireless communication module, and a power supply. The housing contains a water storage chamber, a trapping chamber, and an equipment chamber. The water storage chamber is located at the bottom of the housing, while the trapping chamber and equipment chamber are located above the water storage chamber. A porous partition is provided between the water storage chamber and the trapping chamber, and a partition is provided between the trapping chamber and the equipment chamber. The partition has a circular opening for the industrial camera to capture images and a rectangular opening for light transmission. A detachable adhesive paper placement plate is provided inside the trapping chamber, forming a fixed imaging area relative to the circular opening. The industrial camera is positioned between the equipment chamber and the trapping chamber, facing the fixed imaging area through the circular opening. The main control module is connected to both the industrial camera and the wireless communication module, controlling the industrial camera to acquire images and uploading image data and acquisition information via the wireless communication module.

[0011] Furthermore, the outer shell, together with the porous partition, the mesh cover plate, and the main cover plate with rectangular openings, forms the device housing structure.

[0012] Furthermore, the industrial camera is equipped with a fill light and is connected to the main control module via a data interface.

[0013] Furthermore, the main control module includes a single-board computer and a power management module; the main control module is used to set the shooting interval or shooting time node, and control the industrial camera to shoot.

[0014] Furthermore, a soft light plate is provided at the rectangular opening on the partition between the adhesive trapping cavity and the equipment cavity. The soft light plate is used to provide supplementary lighting for the imaging area of ​​the adhesive placement plate.

[0015] Furthermore, the wireless communication module is connected to both a GPS antenna and a 4G antenna. The GPS antenna is used to acquire positioning signals, and the 4G antenna is used to acquire 4G signals.

[0016] Furthermore, a paper-sticking plate is provided inside the trapping chamber, and the paper-sticking plate is fixed by a groove in the inner wall of the trapping chamber; the lower part of the trapping chamber is separated from the water storage chamber by a porous partition, and the upper part is provided with a mesh cover plate.

[0017] Furthermore, the industrial camera is placed in the groove and fixed by a bayonet and a camera fixing buckle, with its lens facing the imaging area of ​​the adhesive paper placement plate.

[0018] Furthermore, the power management module is equipped with a power interface, which is connected to the power supply and is used to control the power supply to the single-board computer and related power modules at a preset time.

[0019] Furthermore, the adult mosquito is an adult Aedes albopictus.

[0020] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial technical effects and technological advancements:

[0021] 1) Improve the quality of mosquito image acquisition

[0022] This invention employs an industrial camera in conjunction with a flat adhesive sticker placement plate, fixing the trapped mosquitoes within a relatively flat imaging area. Maintaining a relatively constant shooting distance between the industrial camera and the adhesive sticker placement plate helps reduce blurring and distortion caused by curved imaging surfaces or inconsistent mosquito landing heights, resulting in mosquito images with more stable imaging areas and clearer edge features. Compared to traditional on-site manual collection and laboratory manual microscopic counting methods, this device improves the efficiency of acquiring images of large batches of samples and provides an image data foundation for subsequent manual counting or machine vision recognition.

[0023] 2) Low power consumption and unattended operation capability

[0024] This invention employs a water-based attraction and adhesive paper capture method, eliminating the need for a continuous negative pressure fan or high-power mechanical structures to maintain the trapping process. Through the main control module's coordinated control of the industrial camera, the device can complete wake-up power supply, image acquisition, data transmission, and sleep control according to preset time points. This design reduces the overall power consumption of the equipment, enabling long-term continuous automated data acquisition in outdoor environments without external power, thus reducing the labor costs associated with frequent manual inspections and equipment maintenance.

[0025] 3) Achieve physical isolation between the water source attraction area and the electronic component area.

[0026] This invention divides the interior of the outer casing into a water storage chamber, an adhesion trapping chamber, and an equipment chamber. The water storage chamber is used to contain the inducing water source, while the equipment chamber is used to install an industrial camera, main control module, GPS antenna, 4G antenna, wireless communication module, and power supply. This compartmentalized design reduces the risk of moisture, leakage, or liquid contact with electronic components, improving the device's operational stability in outdoor environments.

[0027] 4) Facilitates consumable replacement and on-site maintenance

[0028] The adhesive paper placement plate of this invention is used to fix the adhesive medium, and the water storage chamber is used to contain the attracting water source. Routine maintenance mainly involves replacing the adhesive paper and replenishing the water source, without the need for frequent replacement of complex attractants or disassembly of major electronic components. This reduces the difficulty of on-site maintenance and reduces consumables and maintenance costs during long-term use. Attached Figure Description

[0029] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the overall internal structure of the device of the present invention;

[0030] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the internal structure of the outer shell of the present invention;

[0031] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the assembly structure of the device of the present invention;

[0032] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the main control module structure of the present invention;

[0033] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the industrial camera structure of the present invention;

[0034] In the diagram: 1—4G antenna; 2—Industrial camera; 3—Wireless communication module; 4—Main control module; 5—Adhesive placement plate; 6—Perforated partition; 7—Camera mounting clip; 8—Power supply; 9—GPS antenna; 10—Mesh cover; 11—Rectangular opening; 12—Main cover with rectangular opening; 13—Single board computer; 14—Power management module; 15—Outer shell; 16—Wireless communication antenna slot; 17—Groove; 18—Wireless communication module slot; 19—Main control module slot; 20—Groove in the inner wall of the adhesive chamber; 21—Bayonet; 22—Power supply groove in the equipment cavity; 23—GPS antenna slot; 24—Circular opening; 25—Separator between the adhesive chamber and the equipment cavity; 26—Supplemental light; 27—Industrial camera data interface; 28—Power interface. Detailed Implementation

[0035] A device for automatically collecting images of adult mosquitoes is disclosed. This device requires no external mains power or wired network and can be deployed in outdoor environments or fixed indoor monitoring points. The main control module controls an industrial camera to take pictures according to a preset time or interval and uploads the collected images through a wireless communication module. The industrial camera maintains a fixed shooting distance from the adhesive paper placement structure to obtain a stable imaging area.

[0036] The main body of the device consists of an industrial camera, a main control module, a GPS antenna, a 4G antenna, a wireless communication module, a power supply, and a housing; all modules are encapsulated within the housing. The housing is spatially divided into three separate cavities: a water storage cavity, a trapping cavity, and an equipment cavity. The water storage cavity, located at the bottom, stores water to physically attract Aedes albopictus mosquitoes. The trapping cavity and equipment cavity are located above the water storage cavity and separated by a partition. The partition has circular and rectangular openings for the industrial camera to focus on the imaging area of ​​the adhesive placement board for shooting and supplemental lighting. The housing, together with a porous partition, a mesh cover, and a main cover with rectangular openings, forms the overall appearance of the device.

[0037] The industrial camera is fixed in the groove between the housing cavity and the adhesive trap cavity. The lens is directly facing the geometric center of the adhesive placement plate. It uses a Sony IMX335 sensor with 5 megapixels, a 3.6mm fixed focal length, a lens diameter of approximately 15mm, and supports USB connection.

[0038] The adhesive trapping chamber contains a built-in adhesive paper placement plate, which is directly fixed via a groove. The lower part of the adhesive trapping chamber has a porous partition with a 1.5 mm aperture, separating it from the water storage chamber, and the upper part is a mesh cover. The fixed adhesive paper size is 8 cm × 6 cm. The shooting distance of the industrial camera is adapted to ensure that the adhesive paper area basically covers the camera's effective field of view, reducing interference from ineffective edge areas on imaging.

[0039] The main control module (consisting of a single-board computer and a power management module) is housed in a slot within the outer casing and serves as the core controller. It connects to the industrial camera and wireless communication module via USB interfaces, allowing for flexible setting of shooting intervals or time points. The wireless communication module has a built-in 4G communication card, connected to a 4G antenna and a GPS antenna, used to remotely transmit acquired mosquito images, shooting time, device deployment location, and device operating status information. The single-board computer used in this embodiment is a Raspberry Pi.

[0040] The power management module has a header and a PH2.0 interface. It connects to the single-board computer through the header and to the power supply through the PH2.0 interface. Both are located in the cavity of the outer casing and are responsible for the sleep and wake-up power supply logic of the entire device.

[0041] A soft light diffuser is placed at the rectangular opening in the partition connecting the trapping chamber and the equipment chamber. At the same time, the industrial camera has six built-in supplementary lights. The two work together to improve the stability of image acquisition under complex lighting conditions and to obtain adult mosquito images with clearer edge and texture features.

[0042] The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

[0043] See Figure 1 , Figure 2 and Figure 3 This invention provides a device for automatically collecting images of adult mosquitoes, comprising a housing 15, an industrial camera 2, a wireless communication module 3, a main control module 4, an adhesive placement plate 5, a porous partition 6, a camera fixing clip 7, a power supply 8, a GPS antenna 9, a 4G antenna 1, a mesh cover 10, and a main cover 12 with rectangular openings. The housing 15 contains a water storage chamber, an adhesive trapping chamber, and an equipment chamber, with the water storage chamber located at the lower part of the housing 15, and the adhesive trapping chamber and equipment chamber located above the water storage chamber. The water storage chamber and the adhesive trapping chamber are separated by the porous partition 6, and a partition layer 25 is provided between the adhesive trapping chamber and the equipment chamber. The partition layer 25 has a circular opening 24 for the industrial camera 2 to capture images and a rectangular opening 11 for light transmission. A detachable adhesive placement plate 5 is provided inside the adhesive trapping chamber, and the adhesive placement plate 5 is fixed by a groove 20 on the inner wall of the adhesive trapping chamber, forming a fixed imaging area relative to the circular opening 24. A mesh cover 10 is installed above the sticky trap cavity to allow mosquitoes to enter and to provide some protection for the internal structure of the trap. Below the trap cavity, a porous partition 6 separates it from the water storage cavity. The porous partition 6 prevents mosquitoes from directly entering the water storage cavity and allows water vapor in the water storage cavity to diffuse into the trap cavity, thus attracting mosquitoes by utilizing their attraction to water.

[0044] See Figure 1 , Figure 2 and Figure 5 The industrial camera 2 is positioned between the equipment cavity and the adhesive trapping cavity, and is installed within the groove 17. It is secured by a bayonet 21 and a camera fixing clip 7, allowing its lens to pass through a circular opening 24 towards the fixed imaging area of ​​the adhesive placement plate 5. The industrial camera 2 is equipped with a supplementary light 26 and is connected to the main control module 4 via an industrial camera data interface 27. Under the control of the main control module 4, it is used to acquire images of the imaging area on the adhesive placement plate 5. A soft light plate is installed at the rectangular opening 11 on the partition 25 between the adhesive trapping cavity and the equipment cavity. This soft light plate provides auxiliary lighting for the imaging area of ​​the adhesive placement plate 5, improving the stability of image acquisition under different lighting conditions.

[0045] See Figure 1 , Figure 2 and Figure 4The main control module 4 includes a single-board computer 13 and a power management module 14. In this embodiment, the single-board computer 13 is a Raspberry Pi. The single-board computer 13 is used to set the shooting interval or shooting time node and control the industrial camera 2 to perform image acquisition; the power management module 14 is used to control the power supply 8 to supply power to the single-board computer 13 and the industrial camera 2 according to a preset time. The power management module 14 is provided with a power interface 28, which is connected to the power supply 8. The power supply 8 is placed in the power supply recess 22 of the device cavity and is used to provide power for the operation of the device.

[0046] See Figure 1 and Figure 2 The wireless communication module 3 is placed in the wireless communication module slot 18 inside the equipment cavity and is connected to the main control module 4. The wireless communication module 3 is connected to both the GPS antenna 9 and the 4G antenna 1, whereby the GPS antenna 9 is used to acquire positioning signals and the 4G antenna 1 is used to acquire mobile communication signals. The wireless communication module 3 is used to transmit the image data collected by the industrial camera 2, as well as information such as shooting time, device deployment location, and equipment operating status, back to the server.

[0047] Through the above structure, this invention can use the water storage chamber to attract water, use the adhesive paper placement plate 5 to physically trap mosquitoes, and use the industrial camera 2 to acquire images of a fixed imaging area at a fixed distance. Simultaneously, the separate design of the equipment cavity, water storage cavity, and trapping cavity helps reduce the risk of water vapor or liquid contact with electronic components. The main control module 4 works in conjunction with the wireless communication module 3 and the industrial camera 2 to enable the device to automatically acquire and remotely transmit images of adult mosquitoes, providing image data for subsequent manual counting or machine vision recognition.

[0048] Example 1

[0049] See Figure 1 , Figure 2 and Figure 3 In this embodiment, an indoor artificial environment was used to simulate the outdoor environment for testing. The experimental space was a cube with dimensions of 2m × 2m × 2m. The environmental conditions were set at a temperature of 26℃, a relative humidity of 80%, and a 12-hour light cycle, with a 24-hour testing cycle. The above temperature, humidity, and light conditions are commonly used for indoor mosquito rearing and can provide a relatively stable experimental environment for mosquito activity.

[0050] Before using this invention, the 4G antenna 1, industrial camera 2, wireless communication module 3, main control module 4, adhesive label placement plate 5, porous spacer 6, camera fixing clip 7, power supply 8, and GPS antenna 9 are respectively installed into the corresponding grooves or slots in the outer casing 15; clean water is added to the water storage chamber, and the porous spacer 6, the main cover plate 12 with openings, and the mesh cover plate 10 are installed in sequence. Subsequently, four devices of this invention are deployed in the above-mentioned experimental space, and 100 adult Aedes albopictus mosquitoes are released into the experimental space.

[0051] During the test, the main control module 4 controlled the industrial camera 2 to capture images of the imaging area on the adhesive paper placement plate 5 at preset time intervals, and transmitted the image data and related acquisition information back via the wireless communication module 3. After the test cycle, the images acquired by each device were statistically analyzed, and the four devices obtained images of 12, 5, 6, and 9 adult Aedes albopictus mosquitoes with complete imaging features, respectively. The above results show that under standard mosquito rearing conditions, the device of the present invention can achieve the attraction, trapping, fixed-distance imaging, and automatic image acquisition of adult Aedes albopictus mosquitoes, providing an image data basis for subsequent manual counting or machine vision recognition.

[0052] The above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention and are not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present invention. Any equivalent substitutions or modifications made based on the structural principles of the present invention should be included within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0053] The above description of the disclosed embodiments enables those skilled in the art to make or use the invention. Various modifications to these embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be implemented in other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Therefore, the invention is not to be limited to the embodiments shown herein, but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A device for automatically acquiring images of adult mosquitoes, characterized in that, The device includes a housing (15), an industrial camera (2), a main control module (4), a GPS antenna (9), a 4G antenna (1), a wireless communication module (3), and a power supply (8); the housing (15) is provided with a water storage chamber, a trapping chamber, and an equipment chamber, the water storage chamber being located at the lower part of the housing (15), and the trapping chamber and the equipment chamber being located above the water storage chamber; a porous partition (6) is provided between the water storage chamber and the trapping chamber, and a partition (25) is provided between the trapping chamber and the equipment chamber, the partition having a circular opening (24) for the industrial camera (2) to take pictures. The device cavity and the rectangular opening (11) for light transmission are provided; a detachable adhesive paper placement plate (5) is provided in the adhesive trapping cavity, and the adhesive paper placement plate forms a fixed imaging area relative to the circular opening (24); the industrial camera (2) is located between the device cavity and the adhesive trapping cavity, and faces the fixed imaging area through the circular opening (24); the main control module (4) is connected to the industrial camera (2) and the wireless communication module (3) respectively, and is used to control the industrial camera (2) to acquire images, and to upload image data and acquisition information through the wireless communication module (3).

2. The device for automatically acquiring images of adult mosquitoes according to claim 1, characterized in that, The outer shell (15) forms the device housing structure together with the porous partition (6), the mesh cover plate (10) and the main cover plate (12) with rectangular openings.

3. The device for automatically acquiring images of adult mosquitoes according to claim 1, characterized in that, The industrial camera (2) is equipped with a fill light (26) and is connected to the main control module (4) via a data interface (27).

4. The device for automatically acquiring images of adult mosquitoes according to claim 1, characterized in that, The main control module (4) includes a single-board computer (13) and a power management module (14); the main control module is used to set the shooting interval or shooting time node and control the industrial camera (2) to shoot.

5. The device for automatically acquiring images of adult mosquitoes according to claim 1, characterized in that, A soft light plate is provided at the rectangular opening (11) on the partition (25) between the adhesive trapping cavity and the equipment cavity. The soft light plate is used to provide supplementary light for the imaging area of ​​the adhesive placement plate (5).

6. The device for automatically acquiring images of adult mosquitoes according to claim 1, characterized in that, The wireless communication module (3) is connected to the GPS antenna (9) and the 4G antenna (1) respectively. The GPS antenna is used to acquire positioning signals, and the 4G antenna is used to acquire 4G signals.

7. The device for automatically acquiring images of adult mosquitoes according to claim 1, characterized in that, The trapping chamber is provided with a paper-sticking plate (5), which is fixed by a groove (20) in the inner wall of the trapping chamber; the lower part of the trapping chamber is separated from the water storage chamber by a porous partition (6), and the upper part is provided with a mesh cover plate (10).

8. The device for automatically acquiring images of adult mosquitoes according to claim 3, characterized in that, The industrial camera (2) is placed in the groove (17) and fixed by the bayonet (21) and the camera fixing buckle (7), with its lens facing the imaging area of ​​the adhesive paper placement plate (5).

9. The device for automatically acquiring images of adult mosquitoes according to claim 4, characterized in that, The power management module (14) is provided with a power interface (28), which is connected to the power supply (8) and is used to control the power supply (8) to supply power to the single-board computer (13) and related power modules at a preset time.

10. The apparatus for automatically acquiring images of adult mosquitoes according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that, The adult mosquitoes mentioned are Aedes albopictus mosquitoes.

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