We are creating some awesome events for you. Kindly bear with us.

Facial Recognition Technology for Wildlife Protection in China

While facial recognition technology continues to facilitate many aspects of human life, it is now also being applied to animals, such as to aid the protection of giant pandas in China. A nature reserve in northwest China’s Gansu Province has built an AI-enabled video monitoring system to better protect wild giant pandas. Installed with some 300 infrared cameras, the monitoring system is helping ensure the health and safety of all 110 wild giant pandas in the reserve.

By equipping the AI-aided system to retain scores of archived photos of giant pandas and other wildlife, we can obtain a 98% success rate for species recognition. The success rate of recognising other wild animals can top 80%.

– Liu Xingming, Head of Administration, Reserve

The system can automatically recognise various wild animals caught in infrared cameras, allowing researchers to collect data on giant pandas and other wildlife while staying indoors. In 2021 alone, this monitoring system captured 2,896 photos of giant pandas and other rare animals and filmed 3,218 seconds of footage, showcasing the nature reserve’s sound ecological environment as well as a gradual rise in giant panda population there.

The monitoring system was put into operations more than two years ago, and it has since captured scores of photos and videos of giant pandas engaged in activities such as eating, resting and fighting for mates. Researchers used the system to not only observe the dynamics and health of the giant panda population but also to learn about changes in the natural and biological surroundings of their habitat.

The system provided scientific data to help us grasp the living conditions of wild giant pandas and formulate conservation strategies. More importantly, it also achieved real-time monitoring of the reserve, so that we can detect the threats to the wildlife as early as possible. The monitoring system has enabled systematic, scientific, and intelligent conservation of wildlife.

Moreover, Chinese entrepreneurs see an opportunity to apply this facial recognition technology agriculture as farms become bigger and more commercialised, and as the rural population ages, limiting the number of people able to do manual work.

For humans, facial recognition works by measuring distances between features like eyebrows and lips. But for cows, the software detects patterns and shapes on the animals’ faces and hides. With 50 photographs from different angles, the software can differentiate each cow.

Farmers load information such as health conditions, insemination dates and pregnancy test results into the system, which syncs up with cameras installed above troughs and milking stations. If everything works, farmers can amass valuable data easily. Signs of illness or unusual behaviour can be detected using ­artificial intelligence and treated quickly by a human, rather than relying on farmers to inspect the herd for potential problems.

Intelligent farming is beginning to change how the agricultural sector operates, and China’s technological giants are getting in on the action. A big tech company has been developing voice recognition technology for pigs to try to detect if the animals are in pain or trouble, while the online retailer has been working on an AI-powered system to develop feeding plans for individual pigs.

There are obvious constraints — like the technology working properly on a farm, appropriately validating what is being monitored, and data handling — but these challenges are worth tackling if they bring animal welfare benefits.

While farmers in other parts of the world are increasingly turning to technology to offset ageing populations and labour shortages, China is mainly motivated to produce more domestically. China feeds 22% of the world’s population with only 10% of the world’s arable land. That creates an extra incentive for China to improve food standards and production, including through the use of advanced technology, including facial recognition technology.

PARTNER

Qlik’s vision is a data-literate world, where everyone can use data and analytics to improve decision-making and solve their most challenging problems. A private company, Qlik offers real-time data integration and analytics solutions, powered by Qlik Cloud, to close the gaps between data, insights and action. By transforming data into Active Intelligence, businesses can drive better decisions, improve revenue and profitability, and optimize customer relationships. Qlik serves more than 38,000 active customers in over 100 countries.

PARTNER

CTC Global Singapore, a premier end-to-end IT solutions provider, is a fully owned subsidiary of ITOCHU Techno-Solutions Corporation (CTC) and ITOCHU Corporation.

Since 1972, CTC has established itself as one of the country’s top IT solutions providers. With 50 years of experience, headed by an experienced management team and staffed by over 200 qualified IT professionals, we support organizations with integrated IT solutions expertise in Autonomous IT, Cyber Security, Digital Transformation, Enterprise Cloud Infrastructure, Workplace Modernization and Professional Services.

Well-known for our strengths in system integration and consultation, CTC Global proves to be the preferred IT outsourcing destination for organizations all over Singapore today.

PARTNER

Planview has one mission: to build the future of connected work. Our solutions enable organizations to connect the business from ideas to impact, empowering companies to accelerate the achievement of what matters most. Planview’s full spectrum of Portfolio Management and Work Management solutions creates an organizational focus on the strategic outcomes that matter and empowers teams to deliver their best work, no matter how they work. The comprehensive Planview platform and enterprise success model enables customers to deliver innovative, competitive products, services, and customer experiences. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, with locations around the world, Planview has more than 1,300 employees supporting 4,500 customers and 2.6 million users worldwide. For more information, visit www.planview.com.

SUPPORTING ORGANISATION

SIRIM is a premier industrial research and technology organisation in Malaysia, wholly-owned by the Minister​ of Finance Incorporated. With over forty years of experience and expertise, SIRIM is mandated as the machinery for research and technology development, and the national champion of quality. SIRIM has always played a major role in the development of the country’s private sector. By tapping into our expertise and knowledge base, we focus on developing new technologies and improvements in the manufacturing, technology and services sectors. We nurture Small Medium Enterprises (SME) growth with solutions for technology penetration and upgrading, making it an ideal technology partner for SMEs.

PARTNER

HashiCorp provides infrastructure automation software for multi-cloud environments, enabling enterprises to unlock a common cloud operating model to provision, secure, connect, and run any application on any infrastructure. HashiCorp tools allow organizations to deliver applications faster by helping enterprises transition from manual processes and ITIL practices to self-service automation and DevOps practices. 

PARTNER

IBM is a leading global hybrid cloud and AI, and business services provider. We help clients in more than 175 countries capitalize on insights from their data, streamline business processes, reduce costs and gain the competitive edge in their industries. Nearly 3,000 government and corporate entities in critical infrastructure areas such as financial services, telecommunications and healthcare rely on IBM’s hybrid cloud platform and Red Hat OpenShift to affect their digital transformations quickly, efficiently and securely. IBM’s breakthrough innovations in AI, quantum computing, industry-specific cloud solutions and business services deliver open and flexible options to our clients. All of this is backed by IBM’s legendary commitment to trust, transparency, responsibility, inclusivity and service.

Send this to a friend