Google
Australia
and
QUT
advance
biodiversity
monitoring,
implementing
AI-detecting
the
sounds
and
songs
of
wildlife.
Google
Australia
has
partnered
with
the
QUT
and
the
Australian
Acoustics
Observatory
(A2O)
to
develop
an
AI
model
that
uses
automatic
audio
detection
to
identify
and
monitor
bird
species.
This
collaboration
is
part
of
Google’s
Digital
Future
Initiative,
a
five-year
investment
in
Australian
infrastructure,
research
and
partnerships.
Since
2019,
the
QUT-based
A20
project
has
captured
more
than
17
million
hours
of
raw
audio
collected
through
a
national
network
of
recorders.
Experts
have
traditionally manually
reviewed
recordings
to
identify
bird
sounds,
which
may
be
time-consuming.
To
address
this
challenge,
Google
and
QUT
have
collaborated
to
explore
an
AI
solution
to
improve
the
efficiency
and
accuracy
of
audio
analysis
by
studying
recordings
of
the
Glossy
Black
Cockatoo,
a
threatened
bird
species
found
along
the
entire
east
coast
of
Australia
as
well
as
on
Kangaroo
Island
in
South
Australia.
The
model
automatically
separates,
enhances
and
completely
isolates
the
species’
sounds,
filtering
out
surrounding
noise
such
as
wind
and
insects.
Tom
Denton,
Software
Engineer
at
Google,
says:
“Google
is
excited
to
be
working
with
QUT
and
A20
to
explore
AI
solutions
to
monitor
threatened
or
endangered
species,
with
the
shared
goal
to
better
understand
and
protect
Australia’s
biodiversity.”
“This
collaboration
is
part
of
Google’s
broader
commitment
to
build
a
stronger
digital
future
for
all
Australians.
It
highlights
the
potential
for
AI
to
help
tackle
complex
challenges
and
explore
new
territories
in
this
important
field
of
research,”
says
Denton.
Professor
Paul
Roe,
Head
of
QUT’s
School
of
Computer
Science
and
the
Lead
Researcher
at
A20,
says
Google’s
model
was
producing
impressive
results,
picking
up
faint
calls
of
the
bird
that
more
traditional
identification
methods
would
easily
miss.
“Knowing
the
presence
of
certain
birds,
like
the
threatened
Glossy
Black
Cockatoo,
helps
scientists
understand
and
monitor
their
movements
and
how
they
are
adapting.
This
helps
those
responsible
make
more
informed
decisions
about
land
management
and
biodiversity
protection,”
says
Professor
Roe.
Dr
Daniella
Teixeira,
Ecologist
and
Research
Fellow
at
QUT,
also
comments:
“As
a
nation,
we
have
a
responsibility
to
understand
how
our
species
and
environments
are
impacted,
and
what
else
we
can
do
to
protect
them.
Birds
are
often
considered
indicators
of
ecosystem
condition
because
many
species
respond
to
changes
in
the
environment.”
This
new
partnership
between
Google
and
QUT
will
help
researchers
to
produce
high-quality
range
maps
for
Australian
species
and
enable
conservationists
and
ecologists
to
locate
species
of
interest
easily.
Together,
researchers
will
extend
these
tools
to
identify
threatened
(such
as
koalas)
and
invasive
species,
such
as
cane
toads,
Asian
house
geckos
and
Indian
myna
birds.
The
model
is
open-sourced
to
help
with
conservation
efforts
across
Australia
and
to
protect
the
country’s
natural
wonders
and
rich
biodiversity.
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