Edge-AI Acoustic Smart Trap Module for Real-Time Pest Surveillance

Overview

This technology is an edge-AI acoustic sensing module that transforms passive retail insect traps into connected, real-time pest surveillance nodes. It integrates an ESP32-S3 microcontroller with a PDM microphone and consumer-grade UV suction traps. The device identifies flying public-health pests such as Aedes and Culex mosquitoes and gnats by analyzing wingbeat frequency (300–700 Hz) before capture. Inference runs locally on the device, so no audio is recorded or streamed—preserving consumer privacy while providing immediate infestation alerts.

The solution is designed as a snap-on module, allowing existing trap models to be upgraded without costly redesign. By avoiding power-hungry optical cameras or drifting chemical sensors, it operates at ultra-low power (<105 mW) and offers a fast path to market. Applications include smart-home pest monitoring, residential indoor/outdoor surveillance, and early-warning sentinel networks for mosquito-borne disease control.

Technical specifications

Key features:

• Zero-dependency, bare-metal C inference engine trained on Oxford's HumBugDB bioacoustic dataset
• Identifies Aedes, Culex, and gnats by wingbeat frequency in the 300–700 Hz range
• Runs inference entirely in volatile SRAM (<3.5 KB) in under 2 ms
• 100% consumer privacy: zero audio recorded, stored, or streamed
• Patented edge-cloud sync architecture (patent reference PI 2026000049) aggregates vector encounters and streams real-time threat telemetry over Wi-Fi/BLE to smart-home apps
• Digital masking filters suction-trap motor noise below 250 Hz and correlates acoustic triggers with physical catches for reliable early infestation alerts
• Functional prototype on modular evaluation hardware at approximately $35 BOM; design-for-manufacturing transition to custom PCBA at scale targets a unit BOM below $11 at 100k units, supporting a retail price of $49–$59

Technology readiness level

The technology is at the functional prototype stage, with modular evaluation hardware demonstrated in a laboratory setting. The planned validation roadmap includes: acoustic model tuning and trap integration (months 1–3); fabrication of 20 pre-production snap-on modules with chamber testing of detection range (10–50 cm), acoustic sensitivity, and capture correlation (months 4–6); consumer field trials across 20 residential units validating 24/7 reliability and <1% false alarm rate (months 7–10); and design-for-manufacturing, custom PCBA, and tooling for high-volume retail launch (months 11–12).