Oklahoma company develops AI-powered system to detect New World screwworm
TrapLink, a solar-powered monitoring system developed in Oklahoma, uses artificial intelligence to identify New World screwworm and aims to provide early warnings for livestock producers
OKLAHOMA CITY —
An Oklahoma company has developed a new technology called TrapLink to help detect New World screwworm, a growing threat to livestock, with 42 confirmed cases reported in Texas and New Mexico as of Friday.
TrapLink is a solar-powered monitoring system that photographs insects, uploads the images through a cellular connection, and uses artificial intelligence to identify potential threats.
“TrapLink is a next-generation biosecurity monitoring station specifically for New World screwworm,” said Ryan Early, founder of TrapLink. “We are aiming to help provide producers, state agencies and the likes, another means of early detection prior to seeing active infections in cattle, wildlife and even our pets.”
Company officials explained that traditional monitoring methods rely on manual traps checked by workers in the field. TrapLink automates this process by photographing insects, uploading the images to a remote server, and using AI to classify the species before sending notifications to users.
“It uses a two-megapixel high-resolution camera where we are able to go in, actually take a picture, upload that picture to a server, and then use that server for classification, identification, whether that’s mosquitoes, gnats, midges, flies, in this case, New World screwworm fly,” Early said.
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Next month, TrapLink plans to deploy a pilot trap at the Oklahoma City Stockyards, a location chosen because livestock from across Oklahoma and neighboring states pass through weekly.
Developers believe monitoring these high-traffic areas could provide earlier warnings if invasive insects begin spreading.
“With so many livestock coming in from all over the state and even out of state in some cases, this is kind of going to be a hub for transmission,” Early said. “If these flies travel up from a group, say, from Texas or soon other states, and New Mexico’s now got active cases, then they’re going to get unloaded here.”
The company noted that TrapLink is still in the prototype phase and undergoing field evaluation. Its detection and identification capabilities have not yet been independently verified or approved by a regulatory agency. Any suspected New World screwworm detection would still require confirmation by veterinarians and animal health officials.
“If one of our systems notifies a vector species, then we would want to notify the veterinarian, so that they can come out and make a final confirmation,” Early said. “We are not there to take the human aspect out of it. We want that human interaction.”
Developers said that if testing is successful, they hope to eventually deploy TrapLink in locations worldwide to monitor a variety of insect threats, not just the New World screwworm.