Fish Counting Interface for Correcting Overlap Miscounts

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative Solutions
Generate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Existing fish counting systems face inaccuracies due to environmental changes and overlapping fish, leading to increased manual correction efforts and man-hours.

Innovation Solution

A fish counting system that provides a time-series fish count change display and correction interface, allowing for easy identification and correction of miscounting through graphical representations and operational instructions.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Extent of automation

If a plurality of cameras are used to count fish passing through a fishway, then the counting capability is provided, but accuracy fluctuates depending on environmental changes such as sun direction and water turbidity

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveautomated fish countingVSAvoidcounting accuracy
Core Design Contradiction:
Extent of automationVSMeasurement precision

Solution Approach 1:

The system changes imaging parameters dynamically by adjusting exposure time, gain, and white balance based on detected environmental conditions such as light intensity and water turbidity. This allows the camera to maintain accurate fish counting capability despite fluctuations in sunlight direction and water clarity, directly resolving the contradiction between automated counting and measurement precision.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

2Measurement precision

If visual counting is performed by manually checking recorded moving images, then counting accuracy can be maintained, but man-hour is increased and productivity is reduced

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecounting accuracyVSAvoidcounting speed
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs self-verification by automatically detecting potential miscounting situations and flagging them for review. The automated fish counting system identifies frames where fish overlap or environmental conditions may have affected accuracy, then only those specific frames require manual verification. This transforms the process from requiring review of all frames to only reviewing flagged frames, dramatically improving productivity while maintaining accuracy.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #25Self-service

3Measurement precision

If the entire moving image is visually inspected to correct miscounting, then counting accuracy can be improved, but man-hour is increased and operation becomes cumbersome

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecounting accuracyVSAvoidcorrection operation ease
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The system extracts and separates only the frames that require manual verification from the entire moving image sequence. By identifying and flagging only those specific time points where miscounting is likely to occur (such as frames with overlapping fish or poor imaging conditions), the system allows operators to focus correction efforts on a small subset of frames rather than reviewing the entire lengthy moving image, greatly improving ease of operation.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

4Productivity

If fish counting is performed when a large number of fish pass through at once, then the counting rate is increased, but miscounting frequency is increased due to overlapping fish

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecounting rateVSAvoidcounting accuracy
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSMeasurement precision

Solution Approach 1:

The system implements feedback by continuously monitoring fish density and overlap conditions in real-time during the counting process. When a large number of fish are detected in a frame or when overlapping is identified, the system automatically flags that frame for verification and adjusts counting parameters. This feedback mechanism allows the system to maintain high counting rates while identifying and correcting potential miscounts caused by fish overlap.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

Data Source

PatentEP4036801B1Fish counting system, fish counting method, and program
Publication Date: 2026.03.18 YANMAR POWER TECH CO LTD
  • EP4036801B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP4036801B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP4036801B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

A fish counting system (3) has: an image acquisition unit (30) for acquiring a plurality of images wherein a fluid containing fish is imaged over time; a counting unit (34) for counting the fish on the basis of the plurality of images; a fish count change display provision unit (38) for providing a fish count change display (70), wherein a display (71) corresponding to the number of fish counted per unit time is arranged in a time-series manner; a result provision unit (36) for providing a counting result display (60) wherein an image (62) to which count completion marks (61) indicating a counted fish have been added; and a correction unit (37) for receiving a correction operation and correcting the number of fish.