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Components

Choose your Hardware Setup

Depending on your field of application, several variations of the hardware setup with different scopes and required components are possible. Three setups are presented in the following, but you can always create your own!

Full Setup

For a total cost of about 700 €, the full hardware setup includes all necessary components for continuous automated monitoring of insects in the field during a whole season with the proposed flower platform as background.

With a microSD card size of 256 GB, about 30-50 million images of individual insects (cropped detections) can be stored, depending on the resolution of the synchronized HQ frames and the distance from camera to platform. Two batteries with a combined capacity of ~91Wh enable a continuous monitoring of about 20 hours (e.g. 4 hours/day for 5 days), even if no sunlight is available to charge the batteries. The weatherproof enclosure which contains all electronic components is attached to a HPL sheet and can be mounted on a steel or wooden post with a standard pipe clamp. The flower platform can be printed with the provided PDF templates or with your custom design and is mounted on the same post.


Minimal Setup

For a total cost of about 530 €, the minimal hardware setup includes all necessary components for continuous automated monitoring of insects in the field with decreased storage/battery capacity and a custom mounting option.

Due to a smaller microSD card size of 32 GB, recorded images and data have to be collected more frequently. The single battery with a capacity of 12,000mAh enables a continuous monitoring of about 9 hours, even if no sunlight is available to charge it. The flower platform and components for mounting the camera trap are not included, it is assumed that you want to try your own ideas, e.g. set up the camera trap on a tripod and focus it on a different background.


Test Setup

If you only want to test the basic hardware and software capabilities in the lab, for about 187 € you can already get started. As there is no PiJuice Zero pHAT and battery included in this setup, an additional power supply will be necessary. To test the automated monitoring script without the PiJuice Zero pHAT connected to the Raspberry Pi, please use the corresponding script in the insect-detect GitHub repo.


List of components

Component costs

All prices are shown with 19% VAT (for Germany) and without shipping costs. Depending on your country the VAT may differ and additional shipping costs may increase the total cost of the components.

The prices for specific components may change and this list is only a snapshot in time (October 2023).

OAK USB cable

A USB 3 Type-A to Type-C cable is normally included in the OAK-1 kit and is therefore not listed in the components.

Component Price Product Link
OAK-1 Auto-Focus (OpenCV AI Kit) 145.99 € e.g. Luxonis shop or Mouser
Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W ~22.00 € rpilocator
Micro SDXC card 256 GB 28.99 € e.g. Conrad
Micro USB to USB A adapter, angled 5.50 € e.g. Reichelt
USB A to micro USB cable, 20 cm, angled 5.60 € e.g. Reichelt
RPi CPU Heatsink 1.20 € e.g. Reichelt
RPi Header 0.95 € e.g. Reichelt
RPi Stacking Header 1.60 € e.g. Reichelt
RPi Spacer Bolts 10 mm 3.50 € e.g. Reichelt
RPi Spacer Bolts 20 mm 2.60 € e.g. Reichelt
2x Thermal Pad (1 mm) 50x50 mm (optional) 4.79 € x2 e.g. Conrad
PiJuice Zero UPS pHAT 54.23 € e.g. Pi Supply or Distrelec
PiJuice 12,000mAh LiPo Battery 39.40 € e.g. Pi Supply or Distrelec
Fibox PC 162513 Enclosure 89.99 € e.g. Conrad or Distrelec
Fibox TM 1625 Mounting Plate 7.49 € e.g. Conrad or Distrelec
Cable Gland PG 13.5 0.99 € e.g. Reichelt
Cable Gland PG 13.5 Locknut 0.27 € e.g. Reichelt
8x Stainless Steel Cable Tie 3.90 € e.g. Reichelt
6x Cable Tie Mount 0.99 € x6 e.g. Reichelt
Acrylic Glas (2 mm) 40x40 mm ~5.00 € e.g. S-Polytec
EPDM Sealing Strip 20x5 mm 6.25 € e.g. Amazon
Silica Gel Pack 50 g 15.99 € e.g. Amazon
Solar Panel 6V 9W 98.30 € e.g. Voltaic Systems or Kiwi Electronics
Solar Panel Bracket, Medium (optional) 11.75 € e.g. Voltaic Systems or Kiwi Electronics
Solar Panel Extension Cable, 1 ft ~7.00 € e.g. Voltaic Systems or Funky Leisure
Solar Panel Micro USB Adapter 3.88 € e.g. Voltaic Systems or Kiwi Electronics
Voltaic 12,800mAh Li-Ion Battery 83.55 € e.g. Voltaic Systems or Kiwi Electronics
2x Heatsink 40x30 mm (optional) 2.35 € x2 e.g. Reichelt
HPL Sheet (4 mm) 350x250 mm ~5.00 € e.g. HPL shop
Aluminium Square Tube (23.5x23.5 mm), 1.5 m ~16.00 € Local hardware store (e.g. Bauhaus)
4x M4 20 mm Screws (internal hexagon) ~2.00 € Local hardware store
7x M4 40 mm Screws ~3.00 € Local hardware store
2x M4 60 mm Screws ~2.00 € Local hardware store
21x M4 Hex Nuts ~3.00 € Local hardware store
18x Flat Washer (e.g. M4 15 mm) ~3.00 € Local hardware store (e.g. Bauhaus)
Pipe Clamp (60.3 mm) 70 mm + screws & nuts 5.09 € e.g. Traffic sign shop
Pipe Clamp (60.3 mm) 350 mm + screws & nuts 7.81 € e.g. Traffic sign shop
Flower Platform (e.g. 350x200 mm) ~17.00 € e.g. Lightweight foam board or Acrylic glass
Total cost ~704 €
Total cost with optional components ~730 €
Component Price Product Link
OAK-1 (OpenCV AI Kit) 145.99 € e.g. Luxonis shop or Mouser
Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W ~22.00 € rpilocator
Micro SDHC Card 32 GB 8.95 € e.g. Reichelt
Micro USB to USB A Adapter, angled 5.50 € e.g. Reichelt
RPi CPU Heatsink 1.20 € e.g. Reichelt
RPi Header 0.95 € e.g. Reichelt
RPi Stacking Header 1.60 € e.g. Reichelt
RPi Spacer Bolts 10 mm 3.50 € e.g. Reichelt
RPi Spacer Bolts 20 mm 2.60 € e.g. Reichelt
Thermal Pad (1 mm) 50x50 mm (optional) 4.79 € e.g. Conrad
PiJuice Zero UPS pHAT 54.23 € e.g. Pi Supply or Distrelec
PiJuice 12,000mAh LiPo Battery 39.40 € e.g. Pi Supply or Distrelec
Fibox PC 162513 Enclosure 89.99 € e.g. Conrad or Distrelec
Fibox TM 1625 Mounting Plate 7.49 € e.g. Conrad or Distrelec
Cable Gland PG 13.5 0.99 € e.g. Reichelt
Cable Gland PG 13.5 Locknut 0.27 € e.g. Reichelt
6x Stainless Steel Cable Tie 3.90 € e.g. Reichelt
6x Cable Tie Mount 0.99 € x6 e.g. Reichelt
Acrylic Glas (2 mm) 40x40 mm ~5.00 € e.g. S-Polytec
EPDM Sealing Strip 20x5 mm 6.25 € e.g. Amazon
Silica Gel Pack 50 g 15.99 € e.g. Amazon
Solar Panel 6V 9W 98.30 € e.g. Voltaic Systems or Kiwi Electronics
Solar Panel Bracket, Medium (optional) 11.75 € e.g. Voltaic Systems or Kiwi Electronics
Solar Panel Extension Cable, 1 ft ~7.00 € e.g. Voltaic Systems or Funky Leisure
Solar Panel Micro USB Adapter 3.88 € e.g. Voltaic Systems or Kiwi Electronics
Total cost ~531 €
Total cost with optional components ~547 €
Component Price Product Link
OAK-1 (OpenCV AI Kit) 145.99 € e.g. Luxonis shop or Mouser
Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W ~22.00 € rpilocator
Micro SDHC Card 32 GB 8.95 € e.g. Reichelt
RPi Micro USB Adapter 1.85 € e.g. Reichelt
RPi Power Supply 7.99 € e.g. Reichelt
Total cost ~187 €

Alternative components

While the OAK-1 camera is recommended for the Insect Detect camera trap, other versions with different image sensors are available. The cheaper OAK-1 Lite has a lower quality image sensor, which might be good enough depending on your use case. While the image quality is similar to the OAK-1 under optimal conditions, it will get noticeably worse under challenging conditions (e.g. low light). The more expensive OAK-1 MAX with a 48MP sensor can take still images with a resolution of up to 5312x6000 pixel. However, the video output that is used for the HQ frames in the automated monitoring script is limited to a maximum resolution of 3840x2160 pixel (4K). Therefore the OAK-1 MAX will only be worth the higher price if you are using e.g. the still capture script to take still images at the highest possible sensor resolution. The also more expensive OAK-1 W includes a wide FOV 120° sensor, which might be beneficial depending on your camera trap setup. This version was not tested, so there is no guarantee that all provided Python scripts will work in the same way as for the OAK-1, OAK-1 Lite and OAK-1 MAX.

The following table shows all compatible Raspberry Pi and OAK versions, that were tested with the Insect Detect camera trap software.

Raspberry Pi OAK-1 OAK-1 Lite OAK-1 MAX OAK-D Lite
Zero 2 W
Zero W
4 Model B

The Witty Pi 4 Mini or the newer version Witty Pi 4 L3V7, with the ability to connect 3.7V Li-Ion or LiPo batteries, could be used as alternative component to the PiJuice Zero pHAT, especially if your camera trap is connected to the power grid without the need of solar power input and the power management capabilities of the PiJuice Zero. Both were not tested, so no guarantee can be given for their full functionality.