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Artificial intelligence and its help to protect baby turtles in Australia

Artificial intelligence and its help to protect baby turtles in Australia

When torrential rains hit the northern region of Australia, not only does the climate drop, bringing relief to its inhabitants, the landscape changes so much that the nests of the animals in the area are affected, even being exposed to predators.

The indigenous rangers noticed the change in the landscape and acted quickly to protect the nests and hatchlings of the three species of turtles that inhabit the area.

Thanks to a partnership between indigenous people and scientists, they combined aerial surveys and photographs, artificial intelligence technology and cloud-based data with traditional knowledge to locate turtle nests and protect them from predators such as feral pigs.

"With this system, what normally takes a month of ground-based monitoring work is accomplished in two hours using a helicopter or drone," says Justin Perry of Australia's national science agency, CSIRO.

Surveying the coastline has been a phased approach, starting with camera-equipped drones, helicopters scanning for tracks and potential predators, and then the thousands of images received are analyzed with machine learning, artificial intelligence, and cloud computing with the help of Microsoft.

The precise information provided by the system allows the indigenous rangers to protect nests with nets and fences that keep predators away but allow the hatchlings to continue their course to the sea.

This joint work has ensured that monitoring is effective and accurate. Obtaining results that optimize the resources available to the societies involved.

Using science in conjunction with indigenous knowledge, transmitted for generations, to protect a species so valuable to the planet and while future generations know how to take care of them and respect their habitat are key points that have been achieved with this partnership.

13 de Abril, 2021



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