Monitoring Koala Activity In Urban Areas, Australian Researchers Install Cameras With AI

Every year, an average of 300 koalas are killed on Queensland, Australia's highways. (Wikimedia Commons/Till Niermann)

JAKARTA - Researchers at an Australian university will pilot the use of artificial intelligence (AI) facial recognition technology to monitor koalas' crossings to help conserve this iconic Australian species.

In a statement on Tuesday May 31, Griffith University said Associate Professor Jun Zhou will lead a team of artificial intelligence researchers in a two-year pilot study.

The team will later set up an AI-based monitoring facility that will use a network of cameras to analyze how koalas traverse busy roads.

Car accidents are one of the leading causes of koala deaths, making man-made 'koala crossings', which provide safe passage across roads, a regular feature in key koala habitat across Australia.

Koala illustration. (Wikimedia Commons/Shiny Things)

Queensland State Government data, where Griffith University is located, says an average of about 300 koalas are killed on state roads each year.

"Previously, cameras had been installed to monitor koala crossings. However, any video captured then had to be manually checked to see if the animal filmed using the crossing was a koala or another species," Zhou said.

"Now, with artificial intelligence developing very rapidly over the last 10 years, this technology is powerful enough to help recognize not only koalas in general, but which individual koalas are using video-trained crossings by our AI," he explained.

He added that later this AI-enabled camera will be placed at the location of the main koala crossing on the road near the state capital Brisbane. The plan, there are 20 cameras will be installed at the end of July.