Motion sensor uses AI to recognise when wildlife is running from poachers and can alert rangers.
Any innovation that can help stop the slaughter of wildlife at the hands of poachers seeking, for example, ivory, has got to be good news. So, it's good to learn that scientists in the Netherlands are mixing motion sensors with machine learning to create a powerful tool that could achieve exactly that, simply by allowing them to recognize when wildlife is responding to a nearby threat.
Using artificial intelligence, the sensor is able to differentiate between types of movement and figure out when an animal is responding to the presence of humans. When the sensor recognizes wildlife on the run, it can relay that information to a mobile network or satellite connection to alert conservationists.
While the technology could allow for much swifter responses to wildlife poaching, that’s not the only useful application of this technology: the motion sensor technology could be combined with other wildlife tracking tools to assist in overall efforts to preserve biodiversity.
"Linking wild animal movement recorded using sensors with remotely sensed imagery and GIS (geographic information systems) models is promising technology to better understand the ecological requirements of species, as well as inform management and policy decisions with conservation outcomes and biodiversity,” says Professor Andrew Skidmore, who was involved in the work.
Source: New Atlas