TERMITE infestations may become a thing of the past with the development of a new environmentally friendly device by researchers at Edith Cowan University

Taking advantage of a variety of advanced acoustic technologies, bugFinder is able to detect and monitor termite behaviour when placed near surfaces where termites traditionally dwell.

The new device may prevent soldier termites from wreaking havoc in homes.
Image courtesy Professor Adam Osseiran.

Project leader and associate professor at ECU’s School of Engineering Adam Osseiran says bugFinder has massive potential and is unique in its design.

“It’s a powerful tool that is user friendly and easy on the environment.

“It consists of a listening device constantly monitoring the sound generated by the termites. When detected, this sound is then amplified and processed by the device which selectively recognises characteristic sound generated by termites and instantly signals their presence.

“The acoustic sound recognition algorithm operates in both time and frequency domains allowing a precise analysis of the acquired information. 

“When termites are detected, an alarm sound is generated, a message is wirelessly sent to a central station and demographic data is stored on board and via a SD card for subsequent analysis and action.”

Importantly, the device is versatile and low-power, making it more environmentally friendly than traditional means of detecting and removing termite infestations.

“In its current version, the device is the size of a mobile phone and weighs just 120g,” says Prof Osseiran.

“Also, a future version of the device will generate a signal that mimics that of threatened soldier termites when attacked. This generated signal acts as a natural deterrent alerting the worker termites to retreat back to where they came from therefore eliminating the need to kill using chemicals, which is obviously better for the environment.

“The device will also have the ability to be powered by solar energy for outdoor use. Its wireless range allows it to communicate over tens to hundreds of square kilometres which opens the door for much broader applications such as environmental monitoring or bio-security.”

With termite damages estimated to cost Australian home-owners up to $1 billion each year, Prof Osseiran says there is great opportunity to commercialise bugFinder because of its relatively low cost and low power usage.

 “The device can be rapidly made available to the housing and industrial building markets. Many individuals have shown interest in purchasing the device for their own houses, but we are yet to select major players in Australia through which bugFinder can be distributed to the wider market.”

Comments (1)

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written by Kim Trigg, December 07, 2010

I would love it if we could trial the product as we have a fairly major problem in our home at the moment and would really like to look at new methods of detection and treatment. We are located in Mildura, Victoria.