New Aussie invention set to halt spread of invasive predators
A new Aussie invention will help keep some of the nation's rarest animals safe from the deadly jaws of feral predators. Mesmerising vision released by the Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC) shows how the new electronic gateway has been trained to recognise critically endangered brush-tailed bettongs so they can enter a protected sanctuary.
The AWC's IT team fashioned the AI-powered 'SmartGate' to recognise up to 120 native wildlife and invasive species, letting in the native mammals and keeping out cats and foxes. Trials of the technology have been successful, with 55 million images accurately assessed.
The prototype has been trialled at the non-profit's Karakamia sanctuary in southwest Western Australia. The invention will eventually allow safe passage between its 286-hectare feral predator-free fenced area and the wider sanctuary where feral predators are present but controlled.Yezmin Assad, a telecommunications specialist at AWC, described the progress so far as 'very exciting'. 'We've made exciting advancements, learned many lessons and observed a range of animal behaviours that will result in improvements for the revised version of the SmartGate, currently in development,' she said.
The SmartGate is essentially a tunnel with gates at each end. Entry through the second gate, into the predator-proof sanctuary, is only granted when the AI system detects a target species has entered.
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Once the trial period is over, AWC will use the gate to restrict feral animals, as well as kangaroos and wallabies if they become overabundant in a landscape and threaten to damage ecosystems critical to the survival of threatened species.
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