Barn Owl Technologies - Cranberry Weevil

Barn Owl Technologies

Remove pesticides. Save the environment. Improve yields.

A cranberry weevil. Courtesy of BugGuide.com.

Barn Owl Technologies Corp. is the company focusing on chemical-free agriculture by leveraging technologies such as Internet of Things (IoT) and machine learning. It’s an embedded system product that requires integrations from mechanics, electronics, and software development. Barn Owl Tecnologies aims to create a product, marketed directly to cranberry farmers, that attracts, identifies, and eliminates the cranberry weevil pest on cranberry bogs without the use of pesticides.

During the Winter break in 2021, I met with Jonathan from Weissman Foundry virtually to discuss about the concept about Barn Owl Technologies Corp. Jonathan guided me through the process and provided some suggestions for me to do first prototype before printing the mechanic designs using 3D printers in the Foundry. I made the first prototype using cardboard. Although the functionalities are not working, at least I can design the shape and start figuring out the dimensions for cylinder and the method to terminate these pests. From the first prototype, I understood that I will need to partner with someone who is good at mechanic designs in order to move to further steps. The cardboard provides useful information at the beginning, but it is too fragile that I cannot bring it with me all the time. So, I decide to start designing my second prototype by using 3D printers in the Foundry.

Barn Owl Technologies first cardboard prototype (right) compared to the second refined 3D Printed design (left).

Around second week of February, it was my first time to visit the Foundry and took some trainings to understand how to operate 3D printers in the Foundry. Scouts in the Foundry are very friendly and helpful. They are really willing to guide you through the process and treat you like a friend. Eric Truong is the scout who guided me through the process. There are many types of 3D printers such as Formlabs 2, Ultimakers 3 extended, and Stratasys F170 in the Foundry. Different 3D printers provide different needs for makers. Formalbs is better at details, so makers can use Formlabs to print out detailed objects such as screws or action figures. Stratasys F170 is the one can provide high densities and qualities that can reach commercial products. Before printing out your 3D models, you have to understand how to design 3D models by using software. I used online platform onshape to design the second prototype. The second prototype also includes the concept on how to terminate these pests in the gadget.

Inside the gadget, there are many sensors such as GPS sensor, temperature and humidity sensor, and camera included in order to detect bugs and provide extra information to farmers. The whole concept is to provide online platform that farmers can track pest population in order to prevent outbreak from pests. Also, it provides location information for farmers to target specific areas without checking by labors.

Programming the Raspberry Pi that controls the device.

The best part of the Foundry is it can be good platform to match potential partners. It has a fellowship program that you can pitch your idea to BOW community and find someone to work with your project. Also, Johnathan introduced one part-time MBA to me. So, I got two partners to work on the mechanic and electronic design for the Barn Owl Technologies Corp. I already improved mechanic design from cardboard to 3D printing one and keep moving to integrated with motors and electronic control board.

The software identifying a cranberry weevil.

After joined the Fellowship Program, I got some funding from the program and start designing software part for identifying pests. Thanks for the support from the program, I am able to buy some electronic devices to start testing my concept. I built up one transparent small box that can put 1mm tiny pesticide-resistance pest into it. Also, the electronic devices allowed me to integrate first demo kits to customers. Now, I am able to show my idea to farmers directly. With the first machine learning model, I am able to tell how many cranberry weevils in the box and show farmers that this service can help them track pest population real-time. Thanks for the opportunities for me to join the program, and the project will keep moving and tracking more people who interested about the project.

Learn more about Barn Owl Technologies on their website, or download their recent pitch here.

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**This post was created in conjunction with the Foundry Fellowship program. Barn Owl Technologies received a grant that enabled this project to move forward. If you’d like to learn more about the program, or have an idea for a grant for yourself, please visit our info-page here.