Taiwan uses golden clams to detect water pollution

台灣利用黃金蜆檢測水質污染

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Institute for Information Industry unveiled a real-time water monitoring system using domestic golden clams Thursday, per a press release.

The institute said it used cameras and AI image recognition to track the opening and closing of golden clams as water quality indicators. It said the concept yields timely data, while laboratory testing takes longer.

Technicians used zero-shot learning to identify individual clams and map real-time behavioral data onto a digital model for observation. The method reduces hardware costs, maintenance time, and detection time by up to 80%.

Zero-shot learning is an artificial intelligence technique in which a model uses its existing knowledge to complete a task or identify something unfamiliar.

The institute said the platform can detect and flag acute toxic pollution within two minutes. Results shown on the dashboard can be viewed in real time through a web browser.

The institute said the system was later deployed at a New Taipei water treatment facility, where clams reacted when chemicals used to treat the water were adjusted upstream. The facility supplies water to 2.1 million users.

The institute plans to introduce the technology to Taiwan Water Corp. for use at pumping stations, reservoirs, and aquaculture facilities. It will also transfer the technology for monitoring industrial and domestic wastewater.