WO2022172245A1

WO2022172245A1 - System for counting population of aquatic organisms

Info

Publication number: WO2022172245A1
Application number: PCT/IB2022/051300
Authority: WO
Inventors: Mohamed Ben Chiheb Ben Aboubaker BEN AHMED
Original assignee: Ste Aquadeep
Priority date: 2021-02-15
Filing date: 2022-02-14
Publication date: 2022-08-18
Also published as: TN2021000030A1

Abstract

The present disclosure describes a system (100) for counting population of aquatic organisms in an aquaculture tank (10). The system comprises a sampling device (110), comprising: a main tube (212) vertically provided in the tank; a plurality of manifold tubes (214) extending from the main tube; wherein each manifold tube comprises a plurality of openings (216) distributed along a longitudinal direction of the manifold tube, and the manifold tubes are distributed in the longitudinal and circumferential directions of the main tube, so that the openings are dispersed within the tank. The system further comprises a sample container (120, 520), comprising: a container body (521) for containing the sample to be taken images of and an upper opening (523), wherein at least part of the inner surface (525) of the container body has a color that is contrast to a color of the aquatic organisms. The obtained images will be processed, and the aquatic organisms may be counted through artificial intelligence.

Description

SYSTEM FOR COUNTING POPULATION OF AQUATIC ORGANISMS

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of cultivating organisms in an aquatic environment usually intended for consumption, commonly referred to as aquaculture, and more particularly relates to the field of measuring and monitoring the population of the organism through the aid of computer vision.

BACKGROUND

[0002] Aquaculture involves cultivating aquatic organisms, such as fish, shrimps, eggs, crustaceans, molluscs, and aquatic plants. Monitoring the population and growth of the aquatic species or organisms are required to achieve satisfactory efficiency in terms of growth, survival rate and costs. For example, it is essential to monitor the quantity of organisms in a cultivating tank, so that the amount of food given to the organisms, the timing to move the organisms to different tanks based on their growth stage, etc. can be appropriately controlled.

[0003] There have been methods and systems in the art for estimating a relatively large quantity of organisms in a sample using computer vision. As a first step, it is necessary to understand the overall life cycle of an aquaculture species. For example, many aquatic creatures after laying eggs go through four significant stages: ovarian stage, larval stage, juvenile stage, adult stage.

[0004] As far as juvenile and adult stages are concerned, the state of the art is sufficiently advanced, and a few fish counting devices have been commercially available. The accuracy rate of these devices can be satisfactory given that it can reach 99% in some cases.

[0005] The principle of the counting process of these prior counting devices remains basic. The counting devices are positioned at the junctions between several tanks and are mainly aimed at transferring the aquaculture mass from one tank to another. Also, the counting is carried out when the fish pass through these devices between the two tanks. From a technical point of view, when transferring fish from one tank to another, they are routed through narrow channels, allowing the passage of one or more fish at a time, where a camera with the aid of a light is used to capture the silhouette or profile of each subject fish. Once a fish is detected, the counter is incremented in real time and displayed on screen. Note that usually 4 to 10 channels work together to streamline the counting. Of course, the number of channels varies depending on the volume of production and the space available between the tanks.

[0006] However, such tools are intended exclusively for the counting of fish that have reached the last two stages of the development cycle and do not apply to all species at all stages. It should be noted that these facilities are very expensive and are intended only for large aquaculture farms.

[0007] On the other hand, with regard to the ovary and larval stages of aquaculture species, the state of the art is much less advanced. Indeed, many aquaculture farms still depend on manual counting in order to be able to estimate the quantities of eggs or larvae present in their tanks and this translates into a significant margin of error, up to 100%.

This method remains very basic and unrepresentative since the grower is content to select a small sample randomly. This initially involves a reduction in the water level, the remaining subjects in the tank are neutralized using a chemical, namely formalin to prevent any movement and avoid double counting. This process is repeated several times and the average of the results is taken into account as the final amount present in the larval tank. The process is repeated on average once a day in order to better monitor the mortality rate of a tank since it is highly variable during the first days of life. This estimation method is often coupled with the opinion of an expert capable of certifying or refuting the results obtained. As a result, this avoids obtaining fluctuating results, underestimating or overestimating the number of aquaculture species.

[0008] Another commonly used technique is a current collection of a random sample from a larval tank. Then, this sample is filtered so as to keep only the larvae or eggs that will later be weighed. Finally, the result obtained is divided by the average weight of a single individual at that specific age in order to have an estimate of the population.

[0009] More recently, a new tool to enable easier and more accurate counting has emerged. The latter has been developed and calibrated for two major fish families, vernacular and salmonids. The great common point between these two species is the size of their larvae, which is much larger than other aquaculture species and whose details can even be distinguished with naked eyes. Another problem that arises, these machines are not suitable for large farms since they allow a count limited to 1000 subjects at a time at the maximum. To put this figure in context, a medium-sized aquaculture tank has approximately two million larvae. That being said, to carry out a count on a single medium tank it would be necessary to repeat the operation at least 2000 times and this seems unfeasible from an industrial point of view. In short, this product is mainly intended for small farmers, specialized in the production of well-defined species.

[00010] It should be noted that cattle and poultry livestock farming are showing signs of saturation on a global scale. To be more precise, by 2050 and faced with the need to ensure a certain protein intake for the entire population, aquaculture appears de facto as an alternative of choice. It should be noted that aquaculture compared to cattle and poultry farming, offers the best FCR (Feed Conversion Ratio), that is, the conversion of a unit of feed intended for food, into protein. Despite the fact that aquaculture offers many advantages, in terms of protein intake, it turns out that it remains relatively undeveloped compared to the alternatives mentioned since it comes from a different environment from ours. For experts in the field, the first difficulty lies in the fact that the grower is not able to manage and anticipate the behavior of marine species. Thus, ensuring control over the behavior of cultivated species is essential since it would allow growers and breeders to have the most accurate estimate possible of their production. Added to this is the fact that the management of the marine environment is more complex than a terrestrial environment since a number of parameters must be respected, such as temperature, oxygen level, lighting or stress management that vary from one species to another or even throughout the life cycle.

[00011] In order to meet all these criteria, it is all the more complex to accurately estimate the volume of the population of individuals in a tank. Such an estimate would give farmers an overview of their crop in terms of food intake, monitoring of diseases, mortality rate or quality of production, for example. To date, there is no technique used to ensure accurate counting of eggs/larvae of aquatic creature species at a rate greater than 75%.

[00012] Therefore, there is need in the art for a tool capable of accurate estimation in number and quality of organisms in aquaculture tank as well as detecting the potential presence of certain diseases, especially for eggs or larvae. SUMMARY

[00013] One object of the present invention is to offer aquaculture farms a system to accurately indicate the population of the aquatic organisms in a tank, especially when the aquatic organisms are small, such as small species or large species at ovary or larval stages.

[00014] One embodiment of the system follows a process described below. First, a sampling device is employed in the tank, which is a three-dimensional tube system consisting of tubes (e.g., PVC plastic pipes) provided with openings allowing sampling coverage of the tank in all possible directions and most of the area. This ensures the safe movement of the aquatic organisms out of the tank for the rest of the process while sampling from a plurality of locations in the tank. The purpose of this process is to improve the selection of a representative sample of the tank, so as to improve the accuracy of population estimation. The sample may be discharged into a sample container that is describe below or discharged into a regular container and then transferred into the sample container.

[00015] Secondly, the resulting sample will be contained in a sample container that is designed for the image taking and counting. Specifically, the color and finish of the sample container is well selected to facilitate image taking and subsequent counting, by, for example, increasing contrast and reducing glare, and may be selected based on the species of the aquatic organisms. An image obtaining device may take images of the sample in the sample container. Optionally, the image obtaining device may be embodied as a part or an accessory of the container, for example, a lid for covering the container.

The image obtaining device comprises a camera that comprise at least one image sensors and further comprise more image sensors including night vision image sensor, a light, and an on-board controller connected to the internet. Optionally, the container may be configured to be connected to a tube with a pump responsible for redirecting the sample back to their original tank. Operationally, the component in question will take care of sequential photo taking at the level of several frames per second. Optionally, the controller may allow initial image processing to facilitate the following task of the detection and counting system, by, for example, applying filters to the images and dividing the images into block images. [00016] Then, the photos obtained will be transferred (e.g., via the internet) to the counting device which aims to ensure the detection and counting of the subjects taken. The counting device counts the population of the organisms in the images through subject detection and counting via artificial intelligence, and then obtain the population count of the whole tank based on the ratio of the sample volume and the tank volume. By experiment, the inventor has found it may achieve counting accuracy of 90-98%, and usually over 95%. Finally, the resulting figure will be transferred to the database and make it possible to create a platform so that the result may be viewed through internet by the grower. Despite the fact that the process has multiple steps, the steps follow one another automatically and may be completed promptly. In an example, it takes maximum of one minute. As such, in order to streamline the process, the result obtained can be deposited on the cloud rather than on the computer. In this sense, the present invention opted for a "divide and conquer" approach involving a division of tasks, which helps us to obtain the most accurate result possible and as soon as possible.

[00017] In one aspect of the invention, a sampling device for obtaining a sample from an aquaculture tank containing aquatic organisms, comprises: a main tube vertically provided in the tank; a plurality of manifold tubes extending from the main tube in communication with the main tube; wherein each of the manifold tubes comprises a plurality of openings distributed along a longitudinal direction of the corresponding manifold tube, and the manifold tubes are distributed in a longitudinal direction and a circumferential direction of the main tube, so that the openings of all the manifold tubes are dispersed in an inner space of the tank.

[00018] According to one aspect of the invention, the plurality of manifold tubes may be evenly distributed along the longitudinal direction of the main tube.

[00019] According to one aspect of the invention, the plurality of manifold tubes may be evenly distributed along the circumferential direction of the man tube.

[00020] According to one aspect of the invention, the main tube may comprise a plurality of main tubes dispersed within the tank. In addition, the plurality of main tubes may be arranged in one or more rows.

[00021] According to one aspect of the invention, the manifold tubes extending from one main tube towards an adjacent main tube and the manifold tubes extending from the adjacent main tube towards the one main tube may stagger from each other in at least one of the longitudinal direction and the circumferential direction of the main tubes to avoid overlapping.

[00022] According to one aspect of the invention, the openings of each manifold tubes may be distributed evenly along a longitudinal direction of the corresponding manifold tubes.

[00023] According to one aspect of the invention, the openings of each manifold tubes may be distributed denser towards a distal end of the corresponding manifold tube. [00024] According to one aspect of the invention, the openings of each manifold tubes may be distributed not to overlap with each other in a radial direction of the corresponding manifold tube.

[00025] According to one aspect of the invention, a radius of each openings may be in a range between 50 mm and 80 mm.

[00026] According to one aspect of the invention, a lower end of the main tube may be in communication with an outlet to discharge a sample from the tank.

[00027] According to one aspect of the invention, an upper end of the main tube may be in communication with an outlet through a pump to discharge a sample from the tank.

[00028] In another aspect of the invention, a sample container for containing a sample of aquatic organisms, comprises: a container body for containing the sample, having an opening at an upper end thereof, images of the sample are able to be taken through the opening; wherein at least an inner surface of a bottom of the container body has a contrasting color that is contrast to a color of the aquatic organisms.

[00029] According another aspect of the invention, an inner surface of the container body may have a same contrasting color that is contrast to the color of the aquatic organisms.

[00030] According another aspect of the invention, the contrasting color may be black or white.

[00031] According another aspect of the invention, the inner surface of the container boy may have a matt finish.

[00032] According another aspect of the invention, the sample container may further comprise: a lid; and an image obtaining device provided in the lid for taking images of the sample. [00033] According another aspect of the invention, the image obtaining device may further comprise: a camera; a light; and a controller for controlling the camera and the light to take images of the sample.

[00034] According another aspect of the invention, the light may comprise at least one LED.

[00035] According another aspect of the invention, the container body may be provided with a light strip in a spiral way along an inner surface of the container body.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS [00036] The foregoing summary, as well as the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments, will be better understood when read in conjunction with the appended drawings. It should be understood, however, that the invention is not limited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities shown. In the drawings,

[00037] FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic view of the sampling device and counting device for aquatic organisms, especially eggs and larvae, according to one embodiment of the present invention;

[00038] FIG. 2 illustrates a perspective view of the sampling device in a cylindrical tank according to one embodiment of the present invention;

[00039] FIGS. 3A-3D illustrates schematic views of the sampling device according to another embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 3A is a schematic view of the main tube installed in the tank. FIG. 3B is a schematic view of the sampling device including the main tube and the manifold tubes, FIG. 3C is a schematic plan view of the tank with the sampling device, FIG. 3D is a schematic view of a manifold tube;

[00040] FIG. 4A-4E illustrate schematic views of a sampling device according to another embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 4A is a schematic view of a plurality of main tubes installed in the tank, FIG. 4B is a schematic view of the sampling device including the main tubes and the manifold tubes. FIG. 4C is a schematic plan view of the tank with the sampling device. FIGS. 4D and 4E are schematic views of examples of the sampling device configured to discharge sample from lower and upper ends, respectively; [00041] FIG. 5 illustrates a schematic cross section view of a sample container and image obtaining device according to another embodiment of the present invention;

[00042] FIG. 6 illustrates a sample container with FED strips according to another embodiment of the present invention; [00043] FIG. 7 illustrates a schematic view of the structure of the controller according an embodiment of the present invention;

[00044] FIG. 8 illustrates a flow chart of the imaging obtaining routine executed by the image obtaining device according to an embodiment of the present invention; and [00045] FIG. 9 illustrates a schematic view of the structure of the counting according an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[00046] Preferred embodiments will be set forth in detail with reference to the drawings, in which like reference numerals refer to like elements or steps throughout. [00047] FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic view of the counting system 100 for counting aquatic organisms, especially eggs and larvae, according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[00048] As shown in FIG. 1, the counting system 100 comprises a sampling device 110, a sample container 120, an image obtaining device 130, and a counting device 140. The sampling device 110 is installed within a tank 10 in which the aquatic organisms are being grown, such as larvae of fish or shrimps, among others. The sampling device 110 further comprises an outlet 112 and may discharge sample including water and the aquatic organisms from the tank 10 into the sample container 120. Once the sample container 120 has obtained a sample through the sampling device 120, the image obtaining device 130 may take images of the sample in the sample container 120 and send the images to the counting device 140 to count the quantity of the aquatic organisms in the sample.

[00049] As shown in FIG. 1, the image obtaining device 130 comprises a controller 132, a camera 134, and a light 136. The controller 132 has a memory and processor configured to perform at least part of the steps in order to control the camera 134 and light 132 and initially process the images. In the example shown in FIG. 1, the controller 132 is further in communication with the counting device 140 through a connection 134. The counting device 140 may be implemented as a server 142 or a local computing device 144. In this example, the counting device 140, that is, the server 142 or the computing device 142 has memory and processor configured to perform the steps of counting the aquatic organisms through an algorism analyzing the images received from the image obtaining device 130. The counting result may be stored in the courting device 140, and in some embodiment, send back to image obtaining device 130 if it further comprises a display to show the result. The connection 134 may be wired through I/O, or wireless, such as networks through internet, intranet, or other telecommunication means, and may further include means by manually transferring data from the image obtaining device 130 to the counting device 140 manually through medium such as, a flash disk, a hard disk, phonographic recording, magnetic tape, and optical discs.

[00050] The camera 134 may take images of the sample in the sample container 120 while the light 136 is used as a light source to illuminate the sample. The camera 134 may be any type of image sensor that detects light waves into signals and conveys them into an image, such as charge-coupled device (CCD) and active-pixel sensor (CMOS). The light 136 may be any type of light source suitable for image sensors, such as light bulbs, and preferably, a LED light.

[00051] Below, the structure and operation of each component, especially the sampling device and sample container will be described in detail.

[00052] With regard to the sampling device in the tanks, it should be noted that the shape of the tanks has an impact on the choice of the structure of the sampling device that will be installed within the tank. Thus, from one tank to another, the entire installation may have to differ insofar as it is necessary to ensure that the sampling device covers most of the entire tank.

[00053] It should be emphasized that to date, there are two main categories of tanks, namely, cylindrical tanks and rectangular tanks. As a result, embodiments of sampling devices designed for cylindrical tanks and rectangular tanks will be provided.

[00054] FIG. 2 illustrates a perspective view of the sampling device 200 in a cylindrical tank 20 according to one embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2, the tank 20 is cylindrical. The sampling device 200 includes a main tube 212 vertically provided in the tank 20 and a plurality of manifold tube 214 that are communicated with the main tube 212. The main tube 212 is arranged at and extends along the center axis 22 of the tank 20. In one embodiment, the main tube 212 extends over substantially the height of the tank. The diameter of the tube may vary depending on the size and volume of the tank, and in one embodiment, in a range between 60 and 150 mm.

[00055] Ultimately, the main purpose of the center tube or "main tube" is to collect samples taken by the manifold tubes 214 in communication with the main tube 212. In one embodiment, the manifold tubes 214 are installed perpendicular to the main tube 212 (like ramifications). In another embodiment, the manifold tubes 214 may be not perpendicular to the main tube 212 and extend obliquely upwards or downwards. Each of the manifold tubes 214 further include a plurality of openings 216 distributed along the corresponding manifold tube 214. The openings 216 communicate the inner space of the tank 20 with the manifold tubes 214. Thus, the water together with the aquatic organisms may be drawn into the manifold tubes 214 through the opening 216, and in turn into the main tube 212. [00056] When the aquatic organisms are generally evenly distributed in the water within the tank 20, the number, length and distribution of the manifold tubes 214 and the distribution of the openings 216 on each manifold tubes 214 should be configured to be evenly distributed in the tank and cover most areas. Therefore, the sampling device 200 is structured as backbone in FIG. 2.

[00057] As shown in FIG. 2, the manifold tubes 214 are distributed evenly along the longitudinal direction of the main tube 212. In addition, the manifold tubes 214 are also distributed evenly along the circumferential direction of the main tube 212. In the example shown in FIG. 2, A set of six manifold tubes 214 are connected to the main tube 212 evenly along the longitudinal direction in the lower half 212a of the main tube 212 and a second set of three manifold tubes 214 are connected to the main tube 212 at the upper half 212b of the main tube 212. In addition, the three manifold tubes 214 in each set are distributed evenly along the circumferential direction of the main tube 212, that is, 120 degree from each other; and the first set of the manifold tubes 214 are 60 degree from the second set of the manifold tubes 214 along the circumferential direction of the main tube 212. Therefore, in the plan view, all the manifold tubes 214 are evenly distributed along the circumferential direction of the main tube 212, that is 60 degree from each other. In another embodiment, there may be more or less manifold tubes, and the manifold tubes may be arranged in another way, for example, in a spiral manner so as to distributed evenly in both the longitudinal direction and circumferential direction of the main tube. [00058] In addition, the length of the manifold tube 214 is also configured so that the openings on the manifold tube 214 can be distributed as intended and reach most areas in the tank. For example, the length of the manifold tube 214 is about 60-90% of the radius of the tank.

[00059] In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the openings 216 on each manifold tube 214 are also evenly distributed along the longitudinal direction of the manifold tube 214. However, in another embodiment, the openings 216 do not need to be distributed evenly. For example, the openings 216 on each manifold tube 214 may be arranged so that they are closer to each other and thus are denser towards the distal end of the manifold tube. Since the distance between two adjacent manifold tubes are farther from each other towards the distal end of the manifold tubes, this arrange will balance the distribution of the openings in the radius direction of the tank.

[00060] In the example shown in FIG. 2, the openings 216 on each manifold tube 214 open towards the same direction. In another embodiment, the openings 216 on each manifold tube 214 may open towards different directions along the circumferential direction of the corresponding manifold tube 214. In addition, in some embodiment, the positions of the openings 216 are configured so as to avoid two openings are completely overlapped at the same longitudinal position of the same manifold tube 214, therefore the structural strength of the manifold tube 214 is maintained.

[00061] The distribution of the manifold tubes 214 and the openings 216 are configured so as that the openings are dispersed within the inner space of the tank, to cover the maximum space and achieve optimal sampling. In other embodiment, depending the habits and characteristics of the specific species cultivated in the tank, the distribution of the manifold tubes and openings may be adjusted accordingly. For example, if larvae of a fish tends to gather at the bottom of the tank, more manifold tubes and openings may be allocated towards the bottom of the main tube, and vice versa.

[00062] The radius of the openings 216 ranges between 50 mm and 80 mm, on the manifold tubes 214 in order to have a sufficient entry point for the organisms, such as larvae. To avoid disturbing the natural environment of the subject, it is essential to ensure that the larvae do not perceive great distinction when entering the tubes through the openings, the position and size of the openings may be selected accordingly. Also, the color of the tube is defined according to the color of the tank in which the larvae are located, also with a view to not disturbing them.

[00063] The main tube 212 is further connected to a tube 224 at its bottom end. The tube 224 has an outlet 222 and a valve 224. When the valve 224 is opened, the water together with aquatic organisms is discharged through the outlet 222 as a sample into the sample backet (not shown in FIG. 2) due to the gravity. In another embodiment, a pump may be installed halfway of the tube 224 to facility discharge of the sample. In further another embodiment, the tube with pump may be connected to the upper end of the main tube, and the sample may be drawn from the upper end of the main tube. [00064] FIGS. 3A-3D depict the sampling device 300 according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3A is a schematic view of the main tube 312 installed in the tank 30. FIG. 3B is a schematic view of the sampling device 300 including the main tube 312 and the manifold tubes 314. FIG. 3C is a schematic plan view of the tank 30 with the sampling device 300. FIG. 3D is a schematic view of a manifold tube 314.

[00065] The sampling device 300 is substantially the same as the sampling device 200 except that a plurality of manifold tubes 314 may extend from about the same position of the main tube 310. As shown in FIGS. 3B and 3C, four sets of two manifold tubes 314 are distributed evenly along the longitudinal direction of the main tube 312 and also evenly along the circumferential direction of the main tube 312. The manifold tubes 314 of each set extend from about the same longitudinal position of the main tube 312 and also distributed evenly along the circumferential direction of the main tube 312.

[00066] As shown in FIG. 3D, the manifold tube 314 include a plurality of openings 316 which may face towards varying directions in the radial direction of the manifold tube 314. However, the openings 316 do not overlap with each other on the radial direction of the manifold tube 314 to maintain the strength and integrity of the manifold tube 314. [00067] The sampling devices 200 and 300 thus each include a main tube and a plurality of manifold tubes with openings, so that the openings are dispersed in the inner space of the tank and cover most areas of the space.

[00068] FIG. 4A-4E depict a sampling device 400 suitable for a tank with larger form factor (such as a rectangular tank 40) according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4A is a schematic view of a plurality of main tubes 412 installed in the tank 40. FIG. 4B is a schematic view of the sampling device 400 including the main tubes 412 and the manifold tubes 414. FIG. 4C is a schematic plan view of the tank 40 with the sampling device 400. FIGS. 4D and 4E are schematic views of examples of the sampling device configured to discharge sample from lower and upper ends, respectively. [00069] As shown in FIG. 4A, three main tubes 412a-c are installed in the rectangular tank 40. The three main tubes 412a-c are evenly distributed in a row along a center axis 42 of the tank 40. In another embodiment, there may be different number of main tubes, for example, 2, 4, 5, or more. In addition, the main tubes may also be arranged in a plurality rows and evenly distributed in the inner space of the tank, depending on the width and length of the tank. In another embodiment, the main tubes do not have to be arranged in one or more rows but otherwise dispersed in the tank.

[00070] As shown in FIG. 4B, a plurality of manifold tubes 414 extends from each main tube 412a-c. The manifold tubes 414 extends perpendicularly to the longitudinal direction of the corresponding main tubes 412a-c. However, in other embodiments, the manifold tubes may extend obliquely upwards or downwards.

[00071] In this embodiment, the manifold tubes 414 do not have to be distributed evenly along the longitudinal direction or the circumferential direction of each main tube 412a-c. the manifold tubes extending from one main tube towards an adjacent main tube and those from the adjacent main tube to the one those of an adjacent main tube should be staggered in at least one of the longitudinal direction and circumferential direction of the main tubes, so as to avoid overlapping. As shown in FIG. 4B and 4C, one manifold tube 414a extends towards the first main tube 412a towards the adjacent main tube 412b in the middle and two manifold tube 414b and 414c extend from the main tube 412b towards the main tube 412a. the manifold tube 414a and manifold tubes 414b and 414c stagger in the vertical direction (the longitudinal direction of the main tubes) at varying heights (see FIG. 4B) and also in the circumferential direction (see FIG. 4C). Therefore, unnecessary overlapping of manifold tubes are avoided while the sampling device 400 covers most areas within the inner space of the tank 40. Therefore, each main tube 412a-c may have different numbers of manifold tubes 414 extending therefrom, as shown in FIG. 4B and 4C. In another embodiment, as an alternative, the distance between the adjacent main tubes and the length of the manifold tubes may be configured so as to avoid overlapping of manifold tubes, instead of avoid arranging manifold tubes extending from the same height while extending towards each other.

[00072] Each manifold tube 414 includes a plurality of openings, which is the same as the embodiment described by referring to FIG. 3D, a detailed description is thus omitted. As shown in FIG. 4C, the length of each manifold tube may differ from each other to better cover the inner space of the tank based on the form factor of the tank. [00073] FIG. 4D and 4E depict two examples how the samples may be drawn through the sampling device 400. As shown by the first example in FIG. 4D, all the main tubes 412 are further connected to a tube 424 at their bottom ends. The tube 424 has an outlet 422 and a valve 426. When the valve 426 is opened, the water together with aquatic organisms is discharged through the outlet 422 as a sample into the sample container (not shown) due to the gravity. In the example shown in FIG. 4E, the sample is drawn through the upper end of the main tubes 412. The main tubes 412 are connected to a tube 424 at their upper ends. The tube 424 has an outlet 422 and a valve 426, with a pump 428 in the upper stream of the outlet 422. Thus, the sample may be drawn from the upper end of the main tubes 412 through the aid of the pump 428.

[00074] The sampling device 400 thus include a plurality of main tubes and a plurality of manifold tubes with openings extending from each main tube, so that the openings are dispersed in the inner space of the tank and cover most areas of the space. [00075] In summary, the sampling device in the counting system is described, aiming at taking the representative sample of a tank from sampling points (that is, the openings of the manifold tubes) dispersed in the tank, taking into account the shape and form factor of the tank. This sampling device has also been developed so as not to alter the natural environment of the fish in order to ensure that the sample seized is as faithful and representative as possible in relation to the tank. Therefore, the inventor has found that, compared to sampling method in the prior art to obtain a sample in a single or just a few locations in the tank, the sampling device according to the present invention substantially increase the accuracy of estimating the population of aquatic organisms, especially when they are relatively small (small species or larger species at their early stages, such as larvae or eggs). The sampling device is also highly efficient when sampling is frequently required.

[00076] Next, the sample container will be discussed. The water with the aquatic organisms will be discharged into the sample container so that photos of the sample can be taken for counting of the organisms in the sample. It should be noted that when taking a sample, the positioning of this component varies from one tank to another. Specifically, some tanks have outlets at the bottom of the tank, while others do not. Thus, for the first category of tanks, the transfer of samples from the main tube will be done in a natural way (gravity) without necessarily aid of a pump. On the other hand, for the second type of tank, the sample will have to be conveyed out of the tank through the main tube using a water pump.

[00077] FIG. 5 depicts the sample container 520 and image obtaining device 530 according to another embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the image obtaining device 530 is integrated into the lid 50 for covering the sample container 520. In other embodiments, the image obtaining device 530 may be separated from the lid and in some other embodiments, the lid is not necessarily provided.

[00078] As shown in FIG. 5, the sample container 520 comprises a container body 521 with an opening 523 on its upper end. Images of the sample will be taken through the opening 523. The container body 521 may be rectangular, and it has form factors between 50 and 75 cm long, 35 and 50 cm wide and 40 to 75 cm high. In other embodiment, the container body may be of other shape, such a cylinder. The cross section of the container may be of a shape of rectangular, round, oval, oblong, among others. The sample container 520 may be made from a variety of materials including plastic and metal, such as high- density polyethylene plastic or fiberglass, chosen for their durability and their ability to withstand shocks.

[00079] The color of the inner surface 527 of the container body 521, or at least the inner surface 525 of the bottom 522 that will form the background of the images to be taken, may be chosen based on the species of the aquatic organisms so as to create the best possible contrast to the color of the cultivated species. For example, for a sea bream larva that are usually white at birth, the color of the inner surface is preferred to be black. In comparison, for wolffish larvae, the inner surface is chosen to be white because the larvae are dark gray or black. Regardless of the color of the tray chosen, it is preferred for the inner surface 527 to opt for a matte finish so as to avoid reflections generated by the lights possibly installed.

[00080] The lid 50 may be any type of lid that may cover the sample container 520 and have the image obtaining device 520 embedded. The image obtaining device 520 includes the controller 522, camera 524 and light 526. The controller 522 may be any computing device that comprises a processor, memory, and input/output ports, that is capable of executing the steps of controlling the camera and light to take images of the sample and, in some embodiments, further process the images. For example, the controller may be MOS integrated circuit, a single board computer (such as Raspberry PI), or their equivalents, and may also be embodied by a smart mobile phone or tablet. The light 526 may be of any type of light source that facilitates the camera 524 to take images of the sample. For example, the light 526 may be a LED. In some embodiments, the light 526 may comprise a plurality of LEDs.

[00081] It should be noted that the camera 524 may comprise one or more image sensors. For example, the number of image sensors installed can vary between 1 and 3 depending on the prototype. Depending on the density of larvae present in the sample, the number of image sensors may be further increased. The field of view of each image sensor ranges from 60 to 160 degrees, this figure is configurable depending on the number of cameras used (60 degrees if there are 3, 160 degrees if there is only one). In one embodiment, the camera is equipped with 3.6 mm image sensors associated with two night vision flashlights included in the light 526 allowing operation without a light source visible to the naked eye (infrared light).

[00082] In another embodiment, the camera 524 also comprises two light sensors that, if they detect that the sample container is sufficiently luminated, automatically disable the LEDs and adjust the camera image sensor. All this configuration allows each of the cameras to take photos in very high definition, with a resolution ranging between 64x64 and 2592x1944 and with an FPS varying between 30 and 90 per second.

[00083] The camera 524 is provided in the lid 50 and thus is positioned at the top of the sample container 520 so as to have an overview of the sample container. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the light 526 is also provided in the lid 50 so as at the top of the sample container 50. However, in other embodiments, the light may be provided at the bottom of the sample container. In another embodiment as shown in FIG. 6, the light of the image obtaining device (not shown) may be embodied as a FED strip 626 provided in the inner surface of the sample container 620 in a spiral way. In this case, the sample container 620 may include an outer case 622 and an inner case 624 provided inside of the outer case 622. The FED strip 626 is provided on the inner surface of the inner case 624. [00084] Optionally, the image obtaining device 520 may further comprise a display 528, which may be provided on the upper surface of the lid 50. When the controller 522 receives the counting results, historical data, or other information from the counting device, they may be shown on the display 522.

[00085] Therefore, the camera, light, and optional display are controlled by the controller, the image obtaining device may be embodied as a computing device with peripheral accessories (camera, light, and display) embedded in the lid. In other embodiments, the controller and/or the display may also be provided remotely from the camera and light. These peripheral accessories are connected to controller via bus or FCC cable.

[00086] As shown in FIG. 7, the controller 522 comprises at least one processor 710, memory 720 coupled to the at least one processor 710, I/O interface 740 connected to accessories and communicated with the counting device, and the memory comprises computer executable instructions 730 that, when executed by the at least one processor, performs method below as shown in FIG. 8 beginning at step 810:

[00087] (a) at step 812, activating the camera to take images of the sample in the sample container while controlling their parameters such as the resolution, exposure, the angle of shooting, the use of LEDs;

[00088] (b) at step 814, processing the images by applying fdters that aim to improve the quality of the image (sharpness, contrasts between subjects and background or brightness), such as negative, noise-removal, saturated, and posterized fdters (At this stage, the method may further calibrating the LEDs used if the grower has chosen to carry out a detection of malformations or diseases.)

[00089] (c) at step 816, determining whether the processed images meet the quality standard, especially the sharpness of the subjects (aquatic organisms), for example, if the subjects were moving when the images were taken and thus appear blurry in the images, the images do not meet the quality standard;

[00090] (d) at step 816, if the images do not meet the quality standard, going back to step 812 and retaking the images;

[00091] (c) if at step 816, it is determined that the images meet the quality standard, dividing, at step 818, each image into a plurality of block images, for example, 6 to 18 block images in order to avoid image noises and facilitate the counting device to count the subjects via artificial intelligence that will be discussed later (the inventor has found that dividing the images into smaller block images will facilitate the subject detection of the counting process and produce a much more accurate result); and

[00092] (f) at step 820, transferring the block images and other data to the counting device, which may be performed through telecommunication module (such as GSM) or internet module, the data comprising, for example, the sample volume which is specific to the sample container, identifier number of the sample container, the volume of the tank, species and the growing stage, among others.

[00093] (g) at step 830, receiving the counting result from the counting device, such as, the count of aquatic organisms in the sample, the count of aquatic organisms with malformation in the tank, quantity of food to be supplied, etc. [00094] In another embodiment, only block images are transferred to the counting device at step 820, and only the count of aquatic organisms in the sample is received at step 830, and the other data can be calculated locally through the controller 522.

[00095] In addition, if a display is connected, the method further comprises receiving information such as the counting result and displaying on the display. In some embodiment, the imaging obtaining device 500 may further allow the user to input data such as volume of the tanks, volume of the sample manually, which will be also transferred to the counting device.

[00096] Below, the counting device will be described. The counting device is a computing device that may run subject detection and counting on the received images and return the result, and may further store the results and other information such as the information related to the tanks, sample containers and image obtaining devices. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the counting device may be practiced with a computing device and communicate with the image obtaining device in a network environment. Well-known computing systems, environments, and/or configurations that may be suitable for use with the invention include, but are not limited to, personal computers (PCs), server computers, hand-held or laptop devices, multi-processor systems, microprocessor- based systems, programmable consumer electronics, network PCs, minicomputers, mainframe computers, and the like. An embodiment of the counting device may also be practiced in distributed computing environments where tasks are performed by remote processing devices that are linked through a communications network or other data transmission medium.

[00097] FIG. 9 depicts an exemplary structure of the counting device 900 according to one embodiment of the present invention. The counting device 900 comprises at least one processor 910, memory 920 coupled to the at least one processor 910, I/O interface 940 communicated with the counting device, and the memory comprises computer executable instructions 930 that, when executed by the at least one processor, performs the method to detect the subjects in the block images and count the number of the subjects, that is, the aquatic organisms in the sample.

[00098] The method is based on an algorism of artificial intelligence (AI), i.e. the neural network. The AI algorism is based on supervised machine learning, namely a convolutional neural network (CNN). The database of this CNN was developed in collaboration with several aquaculture farms that provided larval and ovary samples of different species. This allowed the inventor to create a proprietary database and then feed the data to the neural network. This results in a margin of error ranging from 0.5% to 5% depending on the species concerned.

[00099] In fact, each block image transferred from the image obtaining device constitutes the input of the neural network that will be responsible for analyzing the block images, detecting the subjects (for example, larvae), potential malformations, the result is then output as a balance on the number of larvae and possible malformations. The result will then be transferred to the storage 960 or the database 980, which is the data collection and device management platform. The result will be transferred to the image obtaining device to be shown on the display.

[000100] Through the algorism, what will be precisely determined includes at least one of: the count A1 of aquatic organisms present in the sample; the count of aquatic organisms estimated in the tank, which equals to Al* (the volume of the water in the tank/the volume of the sample) ; the count B 1 of aquatic organisms with a malformation in the sample; the estimated count of aquatic organisms with a malformation in the tank, which equals to Bl* (the volume of the water in the tank/the volume of the sample).

[000101] These data may further be used to estimate the quantity of food to be supplied taking into account the species, the type of food, the number of larvae and the feeding instructions specific to aquaculture; and the estimated mortality rate between days n and n-1.

[000102] Experiments has showed that the accuracy of the counting ranged from 90-

98%.

[000103] As shown in FIG. 9, optionally and if required, the counting device 1000 may further connect to a database 980 to store all the data including the counting results and related information of the tanks and sample containers including the species cultivated in each tank. The data in the database 980 may then be used by an online platform to provide an abundant functions available to farmers and growers to view the counting result, track the history results, track counting history and growing status of the species in each tank, and additional functions such as suggestion of food and water to be supplied based on the population and size of the tank, among the others. For example, each tank and each sample container are related to their unique identifiers allowing the user to enter the volume of water present in the tank and sample container as well as the species grown there and the type of food dispensed. [000104] While the foregoing specification has been described with regard to certain preferred embodiments, and many details have been set forth for the purpose of illustration, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, that the invention may be subject to various modifications and additional embodiments, and that certain of the details described herein can be varied considerably without departing from the basic principles of the invention. Such modifications and additional embodiments are also intended to fall within the scope of the appended claims.

[000105] For example, those skilled in the art may appreciate that other then the proprietary algorism describe above, a known algorism in the art may also be used in the counting device.

[000106] In addition, step 818 may be omitted depending on the algorism of counting device.

[000107] In addition, a part or all of steps 814-818 may also be performed on the counting device instead of the image obtaining device.

[000108] In addition, when a tank is cylinder and relatively large, a plurality main tubes each with a plurality of manifold tubes extending therefrom may also be provided in the tank. The main tubes are dispersed in the tank and do not have to be in rows. Likewise, when a rectangular tank has a substantially square cross section, only one main tube may be provided in along the center axis.

Claims

What is claimed:

1. A sampling device for obtaining a sample from an aquaculture tank containing aquatic organisms, comprising: a main tube vertically provided in the tank; a plurality of manifold tubes extending from the main tube in communication with the main tube; wherein each of the manifold tubes comprises a plurality of openings distributed along a longitudinal direction of the corresponding manifold tube, and the manifold tubes are distributed in a longitudinal direction and a circumferential direction of the main tube, so that the openings of all the manifold tubes are dispersed in an inner space of the tank.

2. The sampling device of claim 1, wherein the plurality of manifold tubes are evenly distributed along the longitudinal direction of the main tube.

3. The sampling device of claim 1 or 2, wherein the plurality of manifold tubes are evenly distributed along the circumferential direction of the man tube.

4. The sampling device of claim 1, wherein the main tube comprises a plurality of main tubes dispersed within the tank.

5. The sampling device of claim 4, wherein the plurality of main tubes are arranged in one or more rows.

6. The sampling device of claims 4 or 5, wherein the manifold tubes extending from one main tube towards an adjacent main tube and the manifold tubes extending from the adjacent main tube towards the one main tube stagger from each other in at least one of the longitudinal direction and the circumferential direction of the main tubes to avoid overlapping.

7. The sampling device of any one of claims 1-6, wherein the openings of each manifold tubes are distributed evenly along a longitudinal direction of the corresponding manifold tubes.

8. The sampling device of any one of the claims 1-6, wherein the openings of each manifold tubes are distributed denser towards a distal end of the corresponding manifold tube.

9. The sampling device of claims 7 or 8, wherein the openings of each manifold tubes are distributed not to overlap with each other in a radial direction of the corresponding manifold tube.

10. The sample device of any one of claims 1-9, wherein a radius of each openings are in a range between 50 mm and 80 mm.

11. The sample device of any one of claims 1-10, wherein a lower end of the main tube is in communication with an outlet to discharge a sample from the tank.

12. The sample device of any one of claims 1-10, wherein an upper end of the main tube is in communication with an outlet through a pump to discharge a sample from the tank.

13. A sample container for containing a sample of aquatic organisms, comprising: a container body for containing the sample, having an opening at an upper end thereof, images of the sample are able to be taken through the opening; wherein at least an inner surface of a bottom of the container body has a contrasting color that is contrast to a color of the aquatic organisms.

14. The sample container of claim 13, wherein an inner surface of the container body has a same contrasting color that is contrast to the color of the aquatic organisms.

15. The sample container of claims 13 or 14, wherein the contrasting color is black or white.

16. The sample container of any one of claims 13-15, wherein the inner surface of the container boy has a matt finish.

17. The sample container of any one of claims 13-16, further comprising: a lid; and an image obtaining device provided in the lid for taking images of the sample.

18. The sample container of any one of claims 13-17, wherein the image obtaining device further comprising: a camera; a light; and a controller for controlling the camera and the light to take images of the sample.

19. The sample container of claim 18, wherein the light comprises at least one LED.

20. The sample container of claim 17, wherein the container body is provided with a light strip in a spiral way along an inner surface of the container body.