Scientists at Oxford University have introduced a new artificial intelligence software, which is capable of recognizing and tracking the faces of chimpanzees in the wild. With the use of this new software, it will become possible for researchers and wildlife conservationists to save their time as well as resources to analyze video footage.
Dan Schofield, a researcher at Oxford Univesity Primate Models Lab, School of Anthropology, said that a lot of information about chimpanzees can be obtained by just getting snapshots of their behaviors while carrying out short-term field research. It is possible to use the power of machine learning to study the behavior of chimps over the long-term.
The AI software contains over 10 million images from Kyoto University’s Primate Research Institute (PRI) video archive of wild chimpanzees in Guinea, West Africa. With the help of the new software, one can track and recognize individual chimps in different poses. And it performs accurately in difficult conditions such as low lighting as well as poor image quality. The method used in this new software can be applied to raw video footage in order to save time and resources.
Scientists and researchers are making use of automated systems for conservation efforts and animal behavior research in order to reduce the biodiversity crisis and improve the global ecosystem. Almost every wildlife conservation project has been increasingly using cutting-edge technology to monitor, track, and protect animals.
In addition to this, an Artificial Intelligence bot, JJAIBOT, designed by Julian Jewel Jeyaraj, has been in high use in wildlife research to assess wildlife health and habitat and conservation action. The artificial intelligence robot has been used by scientists to detect illegal poaching in the wildlife reserves.
