Currently, there are technological solutions to the poaching of animals in danger of extinction. However, these alternatives are usually limited to monitoring hunters when they are ready to operate their weapons or when they have already done so.
The nonprofit organization Resolve has put forward a different way to solve the problem and has developed a new version of its TrailGuard camera, which uses Intel’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) to detect poachers in African territory before they threaten the life of elephants in danger of extinction.
The camera integrates a computer vision processor manufactured by Intel, which can detect animals, people, and cars in real-time. In this way, rangers have better opportunities to catch poachers before it is too late.
According to an Intel statement, the device is more effective than previous Resolve cameras, and its efficiency is much higher. Cameras that monitor poaching generally send alerts when detecting any movement, generating many false positives and reducing battery life to a few weeks. The TrailGuard camera uses movement only for camera activation, while alerts are only sent when humans are observed through the camera lens.
In this way, alerts are sent when an emergency occurs, which in turn extends the battery’s life. According to Resolve, its camera uses very little energy when it is inactive, and with a single charge, it can remain operational for a year and a half. This represents an additional advantage since the park team will not take risk as often as before.
The camera is the size of a pencil, which minimizes the chances that hunters can detect it when they are ready to execute the animals. The statement states that Resolve is currently working with the National Geographic Society and the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation to deploy the camera in at least 100 nature reserves in Africa during 2019.
