The convolutional network is the preferred option for handling large input sizes and is commonly used in neural networks for most applications. In this experiment we demonstrate the performance of a modified convolutional neural networks (CNN) using an exponent based weight. The Exponential Convolutional Neural Network (ECNN) was tested on bacteria classification, with different model deployed on edge devices such as a Raspberry Pi and Esp32. Additionally, we created a model with 3-output that can detect a specific bacteria like E. coli, aiding environmental engineers in improving efficiency. As a result, our 4-layer standard CNN model was able to achieve an accuracy of 85% for 30 bacteria strains and this 4-layer model was successfully deployed to an edge device (the Raspberry Pi 5), with model quantization using TensorFlow Lite. ECNN is having an accuracy of 68% on test set and 89% accuracy training set. This study shows the potential of deploying a CNN for bacterial detection on edge devices. Future work will be focused on improving model generalization, reducing overfitting, and improving real-time inference performance to create a more reliable and efficient system for the environment and water quality monitoring.

This study demonstrates that CNNs can be deployed on edge devices for bacterial detection, highlighting the potential applications for environmental engineers. It offers a method for developing real-time, low-cost water quality monitoring systems. Future work will focus on refining the model architecture, addressing overfitting, and improving the overall reliability of bacterial detection on edge devices.