Researchers from the Institute of Microelectronics of Seville (IMSE-CNM), a joint center of the CSIC and the University of Seville, and the Doñana Biological Station (EBD-CSIC), propose in a new research to use artificial intelligence to improve cameras trap that facilitate the detection of animals in isolated areas. The article, which has been published in the journal Ecological Informatics, aims to bring this technology closer to places where there are hardly any communications infrastructures, and where detecting fauna is not an easy task because the programs are not optimized.
The research, which dates back to 2022 within the framework of the LiFE project and is carried out within the ULTIMATE project, is part of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan of the 2021 call on Ecological Transition and Digital Transition Projects. This study, whose ultimate purpose is the conservation of biodiversity, meets objective number 15 of the Sustainable Development Agenda (SDG).
«Our experience in the design of microelectronic hardware has allowed us to face the challenge of capturing these images in complex scenarios and processing them in the smart camera itself. The work of Velasco Montero is very notable, which has allowed the algorithms to be adapted to very demanding operating conditions. It is enough to consider, for example, the changes in lighting throughout the day, or due to the weather,” says one of the main researchers of the project at the IMSE-CNM, Ricardo Carmona.
In addition to considerably reducing the manual work of reviewing the images taken, this system allows the presence of animals to be detected in real time, facilitating rapid response actions. Another advantage of integrating artificial intelligence into the camera itself is the reduction in stored data and data to be transferred and analyzed, as it filters the information, discarding that which is not of interest. All this allows the biologist to focus directly on the analysis of data, such as behavioral patterns, population monitoring, etc.
Nationally adaptable
This innovative method has been integrated into a hardware prototype developed at the IMSE and has been put into practice in the Aracena National Park. Regarding its application, although it was initially in a local environment, it has sufficient potential to adapt to a national level thanks to the generality of the work environment that this smart camera allows.
For its part, the EBD-CSIC carnivore research group studies the population trends of several species in their natural habitats. To do this, they use strategically placed camera traps, which end up yielding a large volume of images and video sequences, often impossible to analyze and categorize manually.
Specifically, for this study images collected by Ariadna Sanglas and Paco Palomares in the Sierra de Aracena Natural Park have been used, within the framework of a project to evaluate the population of feral cats. The work of manually reviewing images involves a large amount of time. You must first discard the images in which no animal appears and then correctly identify the species or species that appear in the remaining photographs.
The collaboration between the two entities has been favored thanks to the proximity of their facilities, since both have their headquarters within the Cartuja campus. Added to this condition is the confluence of organizations and their financing, among which are the LiFE program, the Ministry of Digital Transformation, the USECHIP Chair and the Complementary Plan in the area of biodiversity (PCBIO).
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