IBB PAS scientists are investigating bird colonies in the Antarctic
Researchers from the Antarctic Biology Department, in collaboration with the team of Appsilon Data for Good and with the support of scientists from South Africa and Germany, completed a microgrant by publishing a paper in Ecological Informatics:
“Using machine learning to count Antarctic shag (Leucocarbo bransfieldensis) nests on images captured by remotely piloted aircraft systems” (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1574954124002498).
This project combines unique and important research data with state-of-the-art techniques for object detection. We confirm that Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, commonly known as drones, are a useful tool for detecting new seabird colonies in Antarctica, and that image processing by machine learning can be used to monitor species that are otherwise difficult to count. We encourage you to read the paper, as well as to read more about this project on the Appsilon Data4Good website: https://www.appsilon.com/post/yolo-counting-nests-antarctic-birds
