II. Output Subsystem: Data Collection and Analysis.

This subsystem is the output system of the automated device and simply snaps images of the clean, flourescene-fed fruit fly larvae for analysis.

In designing the prototype, the following requirements constraints were considered:

1. Differentiate the amount of food consumed between different genetic lines
2. Determine ideal feeding time to prevent complete filling of intestinal track
3. Provide a uniform light bath to maintain consistency between tests
4. Design an image processing program to determine a “food intake” quantity
5. Complete automation of testing procedure and analysis

Initial testing began with the setup of a Spectroline Ultraviolet Lamp (365nm), black box, and a Unibrain Fire-I FireWire color camera to explore the possibilities of fluorescent dyeing of the food. The image below reveals the digestion of the dyed food and the opportunities for image processing.

Fruit fly larvae fed with fluorescene food.

Testing continued in an attempt to obtain data that matched the data already obtained by the NEMC researchers. The use of LED's, rotational image capturing, varied feeding times, and microscopic images were all attempts made in fine-tuning the image analysis subsystem. The images below depict the progression.

Initial testing with inconsistent lighting and reflection from LED's.


An increase in feeding time for larvae directly correlates to an increase in fluorescene within image.


Use of microscope to capture a more accurate image of food consumed by fruit fly larvae.


Current set-up of the image capture station on the prototype.