About
Diopsis is a cutting-edge biodiversity monitoring platform developed by Naturalis Biodiversity Center in the Netherlands. It combines a purpose-built intelligent field camera — equipped with a distinctive yellow UV-attractant screen — with AI-driven image analysis hosted on a central server. Once deployed in the field, the system operates fully autonomously day and night, 7 days a week, capturing photographs of insects and transmitting them via a data connection for automated species recognition. The AI backend identifies insect species, counts individuals, and estimates biomass from the captured images, enabling researchers and conservationists to build detailed, time-series datasets on insect populations without manual fieldwork. The system is versatile: originally designed for flying insects, it can also be adapted to monitor crawling insects and other invertebrates. Diopsis has been successfully deployed across diverse environments, including historical castle gardens, urban zoos (ARTIS Amsterdam), and tropical locations, demonstrating its global applicability. The platform serves ecologists, biodiversity researchers, nature reserves, and environmental agencies seeking to understand and document the ongoing decline of insect populations. Results from pilot projects dating back to 2019 are publicly available, underscoring its long track record in scientific monitoring. Diopsis is a collaboration between Naturalis Biodiversity Center, the University of Amsterdam, the University of Twente, and Westerdijk Institute, and hardware is available for order through Faunabit.
Key Features
- Autonomous Field Camera: A purpose-built intelligent camera with a UV-attractant yellow screen is deployed outdoors and operates fully autonomously 24/7 without manual intervention.
- AI-Powered Species Recognition: Captured images are transmitted to a central server where machine learning models automatically identify insect species, count individuals, and estimate biomass.
- Continuous Day & Night Monitoring: The system operates around the clock, 7 days a week, capturing both diurnal and nocturnal insect activity for comprehensive biodiversity data.
- Population Trend Analysis: Long-term datasets on species counts and biomass enable researchers to detect and understand trends in insect population decline over time.
- Versatile Deployment: Originally designed for flying insects, the system can also monitor crawling insects and other invertebrates and has been tested in temperate and tropical environments worldwide.
Use Cases
- Biodiversity monitoring in nature reserves and protected areas to track insect species richness and abundance over time.
- Long-term scientific research on insect population decline, providing autonomous data collection for multi-year ecological studies.
- Urban biodiversity assessment in botanical gardens, zoos, and city parks to measure the impact of urbanization on insect communities.
- Environmental impact assessments requiring baseline and ongoing insect population data for infrastructure or land-use projects.
- International tropical and temperate field research requiring remotely deployable, low-maintenance monitoring stations.
Pros
- Fully Autonomous Operation: Once installed, the system requires no manual fieldwork, dramatically reducing the cost and effort of large-scale biodiversity monitoring.
- Long-Term Scientific Track Record: Pilot results available from 2019 onward demonstrate reliability and scientific credibility, with deployments at prestigious institutions like ARTIS and Naturalis.
- Global Applicability: Tested in tropical and temperate climates, Diopsis can be deployed in diverse ecosystems well beyond its Netherlands origin.
- Comprehensive Data Collection: Captures species identity, individual counts, and biomass estimates simultaneously, providing rich, multi-dimensional biodiversity data.
Cons
- Requires Specialized Hardware: Diopsis is not a pure software solution — users must purchase and deploy proprietary field camera hardware, adding upfront cost and logistical complexity.
- Narrowly Scoped to Invertebrate Monitoring: The platform is purpose-built for insects and invertebrates and is not applicable to broader ecological monitoring of plants, birds, or mammals.
- Primarily Institutional Use: The system is geared toward research institutions, nature reserves, and environmental agencies, making it less accessible to individual citizen scientists or small organizations.
Frequently Asked Questions
What types of insects can Diopsis monitor?
Diopsis was originally designed to monitor flying insects attracted to its UV-light yellow screen, but it can also be adapted to monitor crawling insects and other invertebrates depending on deployment configuration.
How does the AI image recognition work?
Photos captured by the field camera are transmitted via a data connection to a central server, where machine learning models analyze the images to identify species, count individuals, and estimate biomass automatically.
Does the system work at night?
Yes. Diopsis operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, monitoring both daytime and nighttime insect activity for comprehensive population data.
Where can Diopsis be deployed?
The system has been successfully deployed in Dutch nature reserves, urban environments such as ARTIS zoo in Amsterdam, historical castle gardens, and tropical locations, demonstrating broad global applicability.
How can I order a Diopsis camera or get more information?
Hardware orders and purchasing information are handled through Faunabit (faunabit.com). For general project and image recognition inquiries, contact the Naturalis Biodiversity Center team at [email protected].
