Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: The Lebanese Army is continuing its investigations and will later announce any information that does not affect the confidentiality of the investigation
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: It has not yet been determined whether the detainees belong to ISIS or another organization
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: Around 10 people of different nationalities, including Lebanese nationals, were detained
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: The Lebanese army arrested a number of people in the Matn area of Mount Lebanon with possession it has not disclosed
Gaza Civil Defense spokesman: We have strong indications that there are martyrs, injuries, and trapped people in the Salah al-Din area
Gaza Civil Defense spokesman: Citizens should avoid Salah al-Din Street because anyone who approaches it is at risk of being directly targeted
Gaza Civil Defense spokesman: Reality is that there is a very limited retreat of the vehicles, with the occupation forces providing cover undeer fire up to Salah al-Din Street
Gaza Civil Defense spokesman: Claims that the Israeli occupation has withdrawn from areas in the neighborhoods of al-Zaytoun, al-Tuffah, and al-Shujaiya are false
Hamas: The two delegations stressed that any negotiations must lead to the achievement of our people's goals and aspirations, foremost among which is ending the war and the complete withdrawal of enemy forces
Hamas: A delegation from the Hamas leadership, led by the head of the leadership council, Mohammad Darwish, met with an Islamic Jihad delegation, headed by its Secretary-General, Ziyad al-Nakhalah

Artificial intelligence helps scientists track British wildlife

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: News Websites
  • 13 Aug 2023 23:57
4 Min Read

Researchers have created arrays of AI-controlled cameras and microphones to detect animals and birds and track their movements in the wild.

  • x
  • Artificial intelligence helps scientists track British wildlife
    Gannets sit on a cliffside at a protected site near Bridlington, north-east England. (AFP)

Researchers have developed arrays of AI-controlled cameras and microphones to identify and monitor animals and birds in the wild – technology that they hope might help alleviate Britain's growing biodiversity issue.

Robot monitors were tested at three different places and gathered noises and photos that computers used to identify certain species and track their whereabouts. Dozens of different birds were recognized based on their songs, while AI analysis located and identified foxes, deer, hedgehogs, and bats with no humans to observe present. 

According to Anthony Dancer, a conservation specialist at the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) “The crucial point is the scale of the operation."

Dancer explained that tens of thousands of hours of audio from aforementioned sites and "identified all sorts of animals from them."

The specialist highlighted the importance of AI to make that happen. 

The project's test locations were chosen in London including Barnes, Twickenham, and Lewisham. The locations are gated off to prevent people from straying onto lines and are visited seldom by rail maintenance employees. They are owned by Network Rail, which played a vital role in establishing the initiative.

Dancer noted that since the crucial factor of starting the project has been established, he is hopeful it will allow for expansion into other areas.

Network Rail owns more than 52,000 hectares of land, and many of these places are critical to the conservation of the nation's biodiversity.

Neil Strong, biodiversity strategy manager for Network Rail spoke of bird species like the Eurasian blackcap, blackbird, and great tit and how AI was capable of detecting them from acoustic signals from sensors installed.

Related News

UK-made F-35 parts linked to Gaza Al-Mawasi tent massacre one year ago

Amnesty slams UK for abusing laws to silence pro-Palestine protests

Strong believes it is "encouraging and provides important benchmarks for measuring biodiversity in the future.”

Six kinds of bats, including the common pipistrelle, were also detected by the AI monitors.

More hedgehog highways needed

Dancer explained to The Observer that “Bats almost certainly use railway bridges for roosting,” explaining that more detailed information can be obtained to pinpoint exact locations and protect them.

“In the past, we have had to estimate local wildlife populations from the dead animals – such as badgers – that have been left by the track or the roadside. This way we get a much better idea of population sizes.”

The project also revealed that other animals usually frequent rail lines including hedgehogs.

Strong voiced that usually, hedgehogs are constrained to certain locations "because they get fenced in," adding that there are possible solutions. 

Strong observes that "hedgehog highways" are springing up in Scotland, which include putting tiny holes into the bases of all new fences so hedgehogs can get in and no larger animals can get in. 

Network Rail and ZSL are working on expanding AI monitors in other areas like Chobham in Surrey and the New Forest.

According to Dancer,  “On the sites that we have already tested, we found signs of more than 30 species of bird and six species of bat, as well as foxes and hedgehogs, so we were pleasantly surprised with the relatively healthy levels of wildlife we found in London,” even though he notes that was not the main focus of the program.

The specialist remarked that the main goal was to see how AI technology could survey wildlife not only on Network Rail but also in other areas in the UK.

He expressed hope that the program could also provide insight into how species are responding to climate change and how vegetation should be managed on road verges and other areas, as well as allowing humans to protect biodiversity through a feat only AI can achieve- analyzing tens of thousands of hours of recordings and hundreds of thousands of images. 

  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Britain
  • United Kingdom

Most Read

Hezbollah SG reveals war details on Al Mayadeen for the first time

Hezbollah SG reveals war details on Al Mayadeen for the first time

  • Politics
  • 8 Jul 2025
Major ambush in Gaza kills 6 Israeli troops, injures dozens

Major ambush in Gaza kills 5 Israeli troops, injures 14

  • Politics
  • 8 Jul 2025
Israeli soldiers are seen in Beit Hanoun ahead of an operation by the al-Qassam Brigades, undated (Al-Qassam Brigades Military Media)

'Israel' on blast as media exposes report discrepancies in Gaza ambush

  • Palestine
  • 8 Jul 2025
Yemeni air defenses repel substantial part of Israeli aggression

Yemeni air defenses confront Israeli aggression on Hodeidah

  • Politics
  • 7 Jul 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
The Freedom Flotilla ship Handala as it departs for Gaza, where it aims to break the maritime blockade at a port in Syracuse, Sicily in southern Italy on July 13, 2025. (AFP)
Palestine

Freedom Flotilla's Handala departs Sicily in bid to break Gaza siege

The container ship CMA CGM Laperouse, left, docks at the Georgia Ports Authority's Port of Savannah, Sept. 29, 2021, in Savannah, Ga (AP)
Politics

US shipbuilding woes deepen as tariffs, outdated policies backfire

Gaza war raises ethical questions for ex-Obama, Biden officials
Politics

Mercenary firm tied to Gaza war crimes hires Obama-Biden PR operatives

'Israel' targets children in Gaza collecting water
Palestine

'Israel' strikes Gaza kids fetching water, blames it on 'malfunction'

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS