Source: Tufts University
Technology has long been used to try to help save elephants—through GPS collars, aerial surveillance, and virtual reality. GPS collars help track elephant movements so scientists can study migration patterns, but, unsurprisingly, it’s difficult to get a collar on an elephant, and may be even more difficult to maintain it.
Tufts engineering professor Karen Panetta has spearheaded a project to use artificial intelligence (AI) in drones to keep track of elephant herds.
The team has developed AI imaging technology that can be installed in drones and flown to where elephants roam. The technology takes “video” of the elephants, and recognizes individual elephants through imaging rather than a physical tag, like a collar. The technology can also detect behavioral changes and visual illnesses like skin infections.
The group hopes that the presence of drones will deter poachers, who may see them as a sign of human surveillance.The technology has already been deployed in drones in the Masai (Maasai) Mara National Park in Kenya, where tens of thousands of elephants live.
Want to Help?
Elephant advocates can donate to Tufts Elephant Conservation Alliance, which started this project.
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