Australia is notorious for having unique and dangerous wildlife, and the authorities overseeing public safety are aware that in many places, the threat of tourists and visitors visiting areas of great natural beauty are also at risk of harm from surrounding wildlife. In January of 2019, a Westpac Little Ripper drone flying in North Queensland on the patrol for crocodiles flew kitted for the first time with the new CrocSpotter, an AI algorithm that “washes” live video footage from the drone to find and then subsequently alert the pilot of a crocodile in the vicinity. It takes about 10-30 seconds for CrocSpotter to identify a crocodile and for an alert to be received, and from there, it is up to authorities to quickly respond by alerting swimmers or getting individuals out of the water entirely. CrocSpotter is accurate approximate 93% of the time and seeing that it can cover a much larger area with more consistency than a ranger on a boat or on the shore, the drone has a lot of potential for enhancing human safety. There is the question of what happens to the crocodiles after they are spotted, particularly in whether or not any harm comes to them from being spotted, but this is more a question about the local authorities and less about the technology itself.
“World Launch of CrocSpotter Ai Algorithm.” The Ripper Group, January 2018. https://therippergroup.com/2019/09/world-launch-of-crocspotter-ai-algorithm/
Categories
Artificial Intelligence, Monitoring
Air Pollution Robot
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Artificial Life, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Ecological Monitoring, Industry/Natural Commodities, Lifestyle, Monitoring
Telematic Rivers
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Climate Change, Ecological Monitoring, Lifestyle, Monitoring, Pollution, Visual Technologies
Co-occupied Boundaries
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Climate Change, Ecological Monitoring, Lifestyle, Monitoring, Pollution, Visual Technologies