Experiments and data collection require a variety of equipment, one example of which is the need for jigs to install and secure different equipment and instruments together.
At Tegara, we provide a service (*) that provides a complete set of the environment necessary for research and development, as well as prototyping the jigs necessary for customer research and development. This time, we will introduce an example of creating an environment for the purpose of analyzing the behavior of small animals.
*Click here for information on "Tegara's Turnkey System," a service that provides a complete environment necessary for research and development.
Create an experimental environment to photograph the movements of small creatures such as insects
When analyzing the movements of insects using the behavior analysis tool "DeepLabCut," it is necessary to photograph the movements of the target insect.
In creating this environment, we built a simple mechanism that requires that the subject can be photographed from either the top or bottom.
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An open source deep learning tool for analyzing animal behavior. It can identify specific body parts of animals from videos and track them without markers, providing highly accurate movement analysis. |
Specifically, we envision a system that satisfies the following requirements.
| ・There must be a place to place the photographic subject (insect), and its condition can be checked from above and below. ・Being able to switch the camera up and down ・Be able to fix the light for illumination ・The video must be stable so that it does not shake |
Setting the shooting environment
Based on the above requirements, we created the following shooting environment.
Overview of the built environment
Roughly speaking, it consists of an acrylic plate in the middle, a space for placing objects (insects) including a petri dish, a camera at the top sandwiching it, and a jig at the bottom to fix the light. By switching the positions of the camera and light, you can also take pictures from the bottom of the petri dish.
In the photo, an acrylic plate with a cloudy texture is attached, but when shooting from the bottom, change to a transparent acrylic plate.
In addition, the light can be turned on and off freely, so you can switch it according to the subject you want to photograph or the area you want to analyze. For example, when analyzing the tips of an insect's legs or antennae, using light will help sharpen the edges.
Prepared/created parts
Let's take a look at the parts configuration in more detail.
We used an in-house drill stand to provide a stable support for the entire structure.
However, jigs are also required to secure cameras and insect plates.
A commercially available clamp could be used for the camera jig, but there was no suitable jig for fixing the acrylic plate on which the petri dish containing the insects was placed, so we designed it using CAD and printed it using a 3D printer.
A jig printed by a 3D printer was fixed to a drill stand, and multiple items were placed on it for testing purposes to verify its load-bearing performance.
As a result, there were no problems with strength as long as the weight was about the same as acrylic plate + small items + insect.
My Feelings, Then and Now
This time, we designed and prototyped a jig for fixing the object to be photographed, a camera, and a light, assuming the use of video analysis of living organisms and experiments.
At Tegara, we provide support for researching and proposing products, as well as designing and prototyping jigs, etc., in accordance with customer requests.
There is no problem even if you do not have a clear image in mind at the time of consultation, so please let us know what you want.
Click here for an example of the "DeepLabCut turnkey system" that includes this jig:
For DeepLabCut / PC and peripherals that have been installed and optimized
DeepLabCut related verification:
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Please feel free to contact us about creating jigs using CAD and 3D printers.
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