Wildlife.ai Product Showcase – March 2025

Wildlife Watcher – Presented by Karolina, Dev, Charles, and Tobyn

The Wildlife Watcher team presented significant progress on their smart camera project, aimed at capturing high-quality images of various animals, including cold-blooded species and invertebrates. The camera incorporates advanced features like motion detection and on-device neural network processing, designed for affordability and low power consumption.

Wildlife.ai Product Showcase – March 2025

Demo highlights included:

• Mobile App: Dev demonstrated the mobile application used by biologists to configure cameras and manage deployments seamlessly.
• Hardware Setup: Charles explained the hardware components, featuring a low-power processor optimized for AI and efficient image processing.
• Data Science and Processing: Tobyn detailed the data management workflow, from image capture through to data storage and analysis, leveraging the Wildlife Insights platform for efficient, scalable, and user-friendly wildlife data analysis.

Challenges discussed:

• Optimizing camera sensitivity to reduce false triggers (e.g., shadows or moving leaves).
• Limited onboard storage and efficient data logging in remote deployments.
• Ensuring reliable metadata embedding and preventing data corruption.

Next Steps for Wildlife Watcher:

• Finalizing image transfer processes between the app and device.
• Enhancing motion detection accuracy and power efficiency.
• Completing the app’s deployment workflow.
• Preparing for field deployment and initiating MVP2 focused on rodent detection.

Updates on Wildlife Watcher

Spyfish Aotearoa – Presented by Kalindi Fonda

Kalindi presented the latest advancements on Spyfish Aotearoa, a project collaborating closely with the NZ Department of Conservation (Te Papa Atawhai) to automate marine reserve monitoring using baited underwater videos.

Objectives include:

• Developing apps for standardized data entry in the field.
• Organizing and processing existing datasets from citizen scientists and experts.
• Implementing automated pipelines combining machine learning, citizen science, and expert review for efficient fish species identification.
• Delivering timely, actionable insights from processed data.

Current Status:

• Significant progress in data standardization, with completed field apps now in testing phases.
• Annotations and data cleaning are well underway to streamline video processing workflows.
• Continued refinement of reporting through integration with PowerBI, enhancing accessibility and usability for conservation teams.

Team Updates:

The Spyfish team welcomed two new members:

• Hiromi Bernan, Marine Biologist specializing in community engagement.
• Ed Atkin, Data Ops Engineer supporting data journey optimization.

The Spyfish Aotearoa team welcomed two new members

Wild About AI – Presented by Tash Сoulson

Tash shared exciting updates on Wild About AI, the educational initiative designed to integrate AI technology into conservation education.

Program Highlights:

• Successfully presented the program at a super staff meeting with 30 teachers, generating strong interest, with two schools considering adopting the paid version.
• A demo version of the educational program is now live at wildlife.ai/demo.
• Completed filming subject-specific educational videos featuring expert interviews and fieldwork.

Classroom Success:

Delivered Wild About AI at Stratford Primary School to 29 Year 7 and 8 students, resulting in high engagement and positive feedback. Students notably increased their interest in AI and conservation careers, reflecting the program’s success.

Future Plans:

• Pilot schools begin delivering the program in late April.
• Preparation for the next educational showcase at the upcoming super staff meeting in May.
• Expanded promotional activities targeting schools for further program adoption and revenue generation.

Updates on Wild About AI

Key Takeaways and Next Steps

Victor closed the session by emphasizing the importance of cross-team collaboration, ensuring that insights from different projects strengthen Wildlife.ai’s initiatives. The projects continue to advance, integrating AI-driven solutions with real-world conservation efforts.