Automatic Fry Counter

The automatic fry counter is a laser fry-counting tool that addresses the problem of rigorous and inaccurate manual counting of milkfish fry. The tool was designed to minimize stress during the counting process and reduce the overall period of counting. The design for the automatic fry counter has been based on initial observations of fry swimming behavior through video documentation. Components of the fry counter, such as the holding chamber and counting channel, have been designed to minimize stress during the counting process and reduce the time it takes to count the fry. The counting mechanism uses a simple set-up composed of a light source (laser), receptor (phototransistor), and a small processor (Arduino-UNO chipset) to carry out the actual counting process. The simple design has kept estimated costs for the fry counter under PhP10,000. Latest trials of the counting mechanism have shown 95% accuracy with six pieces fry per second counting rate.