A group of researchers from the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences of the National University of Asunción (FCA-UNA) conducted surface water quality monitoring using artificial intelligence. The research seeks to assess water quality by analysing benthic macroinvertebrates, organisms sensitive to environmental changes and closely related to pollution levels.
In this phase, the team of professionals collected samples from nine locations in two waterways in the Asunción Metropolitan Area, selected for their habitat diversity and varying states of conservation. In addition, physicochemical and microbiological analyses are being conducted at the FCA-UNA Environmental Science and Technology Laboratory to complement the biological studies with parameters that affect water quality.
One of the project’s most notable innovations is the development of an automated system for identifying macroinvertebrates using Artificial Intelligence (AI). The technology used is based on Computer Vision and Deep Learning, allowing convolutional neural network (CNN) algorithms to analyse morphological characteristics of macroinvertebrates, such as shape, size, texture, and coloration, to identify and classify them with high precision.
Aware of the impact of seasonality, the team conducted two sampling campaigns at various locations. The laboratory results will be strengthened with the estimation of water quality indices and the validation of the developed methods, thus moving closer to the goal of implementing an automated environmental monitoring system for Paraguay.
The research team is multidisciplinary, integrating specialists in environmental engineering, biology, computer science, and artificial intelligence. The team includes research professors Dr. Osvaldo Frutos, MSc. Claudia Gómez, Environmental Engineer Angélica Torres, and Liliana Caballero; as well as research trainees Vanessa Carmona, Ruth Caballero, José Avalos, Dante Silvera, and Sofía Vecca, Environmental Engineering students at FCA/UNA. Dr. Regina León and Dr. Derlis Gregor from ArtICs Lab also contribute their expertise.
The project “Monitoring surface water quality through aquatic macroinvertebrates” is co-financed by the National Council of Science and Technology (CONACYT) through the PROCIENCIA Program with support from the FEEI (Federal Institute of Biotechnology).
