Conservationists Turn to AI-Equipped Cameras to Guard Against Poachers

According to wildlife conservation non-profit Resolve, an elephant is poached every 15-minutes or roughly 35,000 per-year across Asia and…

Cabe Atwell
5 years agoMachine Learning & AI

According to wildlife conservation non-profit Resolve, an elephant is poached every 15 minutes or roughly 35,000 per year across Asia and Africa. Add to those numbers the poaching of gorillas, tigers, rhinos, giraffes, and a host of other large mammals as well, and we may very likely see these animals become extinct within our lifetimes. To help combat rampant poaching, Resolve teamed up with Intel, National Geographic, and the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation to develop a new AI-equipped camera that is capable of spotting poachers entering wildlife reserves.

Resolve’s TrailGuard AI platform was designed as a security system that helps rangers detect the unlawful entry of poachers, and arrest them before they can harm any animals on the reserve. TrailGuard is equipped with a camera and outfitted with Intel’s Movidius Myriad 2 VPUs (Visual Processing Units), which run deep neural network algorithms trained on object detection and image classification.

The cameras are hidden on trails, and other access ways poachers use to gain access to reserves, and if the system detects unauthorized individuals entering those locations, the system sends an alert to park rangers (via GSM, long-range radio, or satellite) who can then take the appropriate action.

The TrailGuard cameras feature wake-on-demand, image processing capabilities, AI inference, and several communication protocols that can be used with existing systems. What’s more, the platform functions using low power, and as a result, Intel states they can be used in the field for up to 1.5-years before needing a recharge.

The TrailGuard AI cameras were tested at the Grumeti Reserve in Tanzania, where it helped rangers catch 30 poachers and seize over 1,300-pounds of animal meat. Since that successful test, Resolve plans to deploy TrailGuard at 100 reserves across Africa this year, beginning with the Serengeti and Garamba. They also plan on expanding to South America and Southeast Asia in the near future.

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