The team includes researchers from DFKI’s Interactive Machine Learning department and the University of Oldenburg. Together, they developed drone, sensor, and analytical technologies to collect biodiversity data and generate insights about tropical rainforests, obtaining an outstanding third place.
The Brazilian Team is among the winners of the XPRIZE Rainforest competition (©Brazilian Team)
More than 300 teams from 70 countries competed in the XPRIZE Rainforest, a global competition that promotes the development of autonomous technologies for the conservation of biodiversity in tropical rainforests. The results were announced during the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro. The Brazilian Team will now share a prize pool of 10 million dollars with Limelight Rainforest and Map of Life Rapid Assessments, the other two winners.
Dr Thiago Gouvêa, a senior researcher at DFKI’s Interactive Machine Learning (IML) department, heads the Computational Sustainability and Technology group. The group, which includes doctoral students from the Applied Artificial Intelligence (AAI) chair at the University of Oldenburg, developed an expert-in-the-loop AI system that helps ecologists sort through the large amount of audio data recorded in the rainforest, identifying sounds generated by birds, insects, and amphibians at the species level. “We celebrate our top-three achievement in the XPRIZE Rainforest competition”, says Dr Gouvêa. “But the real challenge lies ahead: halting and reversing the global decline in biodiversity. As an AI research group, we can make a contribution. The competition amplified the impact of our work by fostering collaboration with domain experts on the frontlines of biodiversity conservation. Moving forward, our focus is on refining our methods, strengthening these collaborations, and ensuring that cutting-edge technologies remain accessible to those tackling this critical issue.”
Working in the Brazilian Team of the XPRIZE Rainforest was a special experience, summarises DFKI scientist Hannes Kath: “Using machine learning methods, we worked to interactively quantify biodiversity using audio data and to combine knowledge of nature and technology. It was inspiring and very educational to work with scientists from a wide range of disciplines and to test our models under real-world conditions. Our success highlights the importance of our work and the effectiveness of our methods.”
Professor Dr Daniel Sonntag says: “I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to the founders of my Chair of Applied Artificial Intelligence for their generous funding of the three doctoral positions over the years, as well as for the trust they have placed in us. Their support has truly paid off. I am also delighted that our primary focus at DFKI, Interactive Machine Learning, has provided us with the decisive advantage needed to achieve this fantastic third place.”
Read more:
Press release dfki.de
Brazilian Team
XPRIZE Rainforest Website
Videos:
XPRIZE RAINFOREST
This $10 Million Competition Will Protect the Amazon and Rainforests Worldwide
Meet the WINNERS of the $10M XPRIZE Rainforest Competition Awarded For Enhancing Biodiversity
