GrowDetect AI
Intelligent solutions for efficient and sustainable insect breeding.
The future is sustainable
Insects – the key to sustainability
The growing world population, rising resource consumption, and increasing environmental pollution pose key challenges for global food production. At the same time, the decline of pollinators such as bees threatens biodiversity and endangers agricultural yields. Insects offer a promising solution to this conflict: They can convert organic waste into high-quality biomass and serve as an alternative protein source for animal and human nutrition. Furthermore, they play an essential role in ecological balance. However, to fully exploit their potential, innovative technologies are needed that ensure transparency, efficiency, and sustainability in insect breeding.
With GrowDetect AI, we make this future tangible – intelligent, sustainable and revolutionary.
Your challenge
No more inefficiency and lack of transparency.
Despite its enormous potential, insect farming is held back by various factors. A lack of transparency regarding origin and production conditions hinders market acceptance. Inefficient processes and manual monitoring lead to inefficient resource consumption and high costs. Furthermore, precise data for quality assurance and environmental impact assessment are often insufficient. To establish insects as a permanent fixture in sustainable food and feed production, these challenges must be specifically addressed.
High breeding costs
About 35% of production costs are incurred by breeding young. More precise determination of the larval population could reduce these costs and increase efficiency.
Unclear quantity control
Precise determination of the larval population after hatching is not possible manually, which leads to inefficient feeding and unnecessary waste of resources.
Lack of transparency
The lack of transparency regarding the origin, processing and quality of insect products undermines consumer confidence and limits market growth.
Lack of real-time monitoring
There is a lack of standardized, automated methods for continuously monitoring insect populations, making it difficult to detect changes early and implement effective measures.
Competitive disadvantage
Insect products compete with soy and alternative protein sources. Without clear advantages in efficiency, sustainability, and cost, the industry remains at a disadvantage compared to traditional protein sources.
Optimize breeding processes data-based & sustainably
GrowDetect AI uses cutting-edge technologies to make insect farming more efficient, transparent, and sustainable. Our solution is based on a modular model, where each component, both individually and in combination, offers a powerful, holistic solution. The three central components are: automated larval counting, Real-time monitoring of insect populations and the acoustic analysis for behavior monitoring of insect populations.
These innovative approaches enable precise control and optimization of breeding processes, reduce waste, and improve resource utilization. At the same time, they make an important contribution to biodiversity conservation by detecting changes in behavior and environmental conditions at an early stage. GrowDetect AI thus creates a connected, data-driven foundation for sustainable insect production and strengthens the circular economy.
Depending on your individual needs, the three components individually or in combination be implemented.
Insect counting: Automated larval counting with AI.
Acoustic AI: Real-time monitoring through acoustics and sensors.
Acoustic sensors and AI algorithms continuously monitor insect behavior to detect changes in breeding conditions or ecological disturbances at an early stage. This supports both biodiversity monitoring and the protection of insect populations and their ecological environment.
Insect Passport: Digital product passport for the insect supply chain.
A tool for the automated collection and verification of energy and CO2 data. It ensures transparency, fulfills reporting obligations, and supports companies on their path to sustainable production.
Your contact person
Do you have any questions?
We have the answers! Our colleague Urs Liebau is happy to answer all your questions about GrowDetect AI.
Urs Liebau
urs.liebau@aws-institut.de
+49 152 34643 510
Our modules
Building blocks for your smart insect breeding
Our technology consists of three core components specifically tailored to optimizing insect breeding. Each of these solutions fulfills a specific function – from precise larval count recording and real-time monitoring to transparent supply chain traceability. The components are flexible and can be deployed as needed. individually or in combination be implemented. Below, we present the individual modules in detail and show how they contribute to increased efficiency and sustainability in insect production.
Challenge.
In insect breeding, the precise determination of the number of larvae after hatching is a key challenge. The number of larvae per egg can vary between 30.000 and 50.000, making it difficult to calculate the Feed requirements of the larvae. This uncertainty leads to inefficient feeding and Waste of resources.
Our solution: Automated larval counting with AI.
The goal of the solution is to accurately record the number of larvae immediately after hatching to ensure optimized further processing and utilization. AI-based algorithms are used to automatically detect and count the larvae. This technology enables precise recording of larval numbers, which is essential for efficient feeding and optimal resource planning in insect farming.
Your Benefits.
- Efficient feeding and resource optimization: Optimal allocation of feed quantity through AI-supported counting, avoiding feed waste and reducing resource use.
- Increased production and sustainability: Automated counting increases the efficiency of breeding processes and leads to a more resource-efficient and environmentally friendly production process.
- Economical advantages: Precise counting and optimized feeding reduce costs and increase productivity, leading to higher profits in the long term.
Automated larval counting ensures efficient and sustainable production by conserving resources and reducing costs, thus increasing the overall economic efficiency of insect farming.
Challenge.
The extraction and processing of natural resources are responsible for more than 90% of global biodiversity loss and water stress. At the same time, over half of the world's GDP—approximately $58 trillion—depends heavily or moderately on nature. The main drivers of biodiversity loss are land-use change, overexploitation, climate change, pollution, and invasive species. Yet, standardized metrics and measurement approaches to accurately assess biodiversity and take targeted action to combat its decline are lacking. Furthermore, comprehensive, automated, real-time monitoring systems are still lacking, despite the critical importance of high-quality biodiversity measurements for effectively addressing biodiversity loss.
Our solution: AI-supported biodiversity management with acoustics.
Our solution uses advanced technologies such as acoustic sensors and Artificial Intelligence (AI)to ensure precise and continuous Surveillance of insect populations and other ecosystems in real time to effectively combat biodiversity loss. In detail, this works as follows:
- Acoustic sensors the erfass Environmental noises (biophony, geophony, anthropony) and provide valuable data on the Ecosystem health.
- AI-based algorithms analyze the collected acoustic data to Anomalies and behavior pattern (e.g. flight patterns of insects, swarm formation, mating calls).
- Automated data collection and Real-time monitoring enable continuous Analysis of insect populations and yours Behavior changesin order to be able to react early to ecological disturbances or declines in biodiversity.
More details, scientific background, and graphics can be found on the poster! Click to enlarge.
Your benefits.
Real-time monitoring AI-supported acoustic sensors enable continuous, precise monitoring of insect populations without invasive interventions.
Early change detection is supported by AI models that quickly detect changes in populations and thus enable proactive protective measures.
Promoting pollinator biodiversity is achieved by quantifying the role of pollinators in agriculture and ecosystems, which further promotes their conservation.
Non-invasive method provides efficient monitoring without disturbing the insects' natural habitats.
Evidence-based policy is strengthened by accurate data that supports informed decisions in nature conservation and ecosystem management.
Contribution to the UN SDGs promotes environmental sustainability and strengthens ecosystem resilience to support global goals.
Overall, Acoustic AI enables precise, continuous, and automated real-time monitoring of insect populations and ecosystems to detect biodiversity loss at an early stage and take targeted countermeasures.
Challenge.
The global population is expected to reach 2050 billion by 9,7, significantly increasing the need for alternative protein sources. Insects offer a promising solution as a sustainable protein source, particularly as animal feed. However, transparency across the entire supply chain—from the origin of the insects to the composition of their feed and production conditions—is currently lacking. This lack of reliable information hampers trust in insect products among companies and consumers, thus hampering market growth. Comprehensive and traceable documentation is therefore essential to establishing insects as a sustainable protein source.
Our solution: Digital product passport with blockchain technology.
The digital product passport enables a transparent and traceable presentation of insect production. Block chain technology and AI-supported data collection The entire supply chain is monitored from breeding to the final product. Our solution offers a comprehensive option for monitoring and documenting insect breeding processes. This includes the following functions:
- Real-time monitoring the production processes and Data Collection.
- Validation of production datato ensure that all steps of insect breeding are correctly documented.
- Transparency in the supply chain, which makes it possible to trace all relevant information on the origin, feeding and processing of insects.
- Completeness of the data: The digital product passport ensures that all relevant information is recorded, which increases trust in the products.
More details, scientific background, and graphics can be found on the poster! Click to enlarge.
Your Benefits.
Transparency and accessibility: You receive a clear overview of the entire production process, including the origin, feeding, and processing of the insects. This enables complete traceability and increases consumer confidence.
Real-time monitoringContinuous and automated monitoring of production processes makes it possible to collect data in real time and identify optimization potential at an early stage in order to increase efficiency.
Sustainability: The solution contributes to promoting ecological transformation by supporting environmentally friendly and efficient insect production that reduces resource consumption.
competitiveness: The digital product passport helps the insect industry to position itself as a sustainable and transparent alternative in the market and thereby increase its competitiveness.
sustainability: The solution provides clarity and certainty across the entire supply chain and helps companies meet future regulatory requirements (such as the EU Green Deal) and market demands.
Overall, this solution increases the efficiency, transparency and sustainability of insect production, leading to improved resource utilization and greater consumer acceptance.
Our expertise
At the Center for Digital GreenTech, our location in Lower Saxony, we develop digital solutions that drive ecological transformations in the areas of circular economy, smart energy, and smart water. Our technologies optimize industrial processes, reduce emissions, and conserve resources.
Urs Liebau, contact person for GrowDetect AI, is a Digitalization Professional at the Center and specializes in digital technologies in insect production. At Insecta 2023, he received the Best Young Scientist Presentation Award for his work on the digitalization of insect breeding. Thanks to his expertise and the interdisciplinary collaboration at the Center, we are able to develop innovative solutions to optimize insect breeding and make it more efficient and sustainable.
Interested? Then schedule a free initial consultation now.
Urs Liebau
Email: urs.liebau@aws-institut.de
Phone: + 49 152 34643 510
What our participants say
Achieving more together
The intrapreneurship program of the August Wilhelm Scheer Institute is an outstanding initiative that promotes entrepreneurial thinking and action within the company. In practical workshops and through targeted coaching, employees are enabled to develop innovative ideas and implement them independently. The combination of theoretical knowledge and practical application creates a dynamic learning environment that strengthens creativity and personal responsibility. This program is a must for companies that want to increase their innovative power from within.
Person?
Immerse yourself flexibly and expand your know-how – anytime, free of charge.
Our webinars on demand
Scientific and talent-centered
Our success model
We offer Best in class in the scientific and talent-centric incubation.
The teams work on the current and future challenges of the company during the program. This not only strengthens the entrepreneurial potential of each individual, but also the innovative power of the company for long-term corporate success.
Part of our work is documented in the current Intrapreneurship Monitor. Almost 500 companies from Germany were surveyed in 2023 about how they set up intrapreneurship activities in their company and what obstacles and challenges had to be overcome. A particular focus was placed on the ICT industry. Together with the University of Bayreuth we show how successful intrapreneurship programs have to be designed.