Synthetik explains how machine learning helps reduce human-induced marine life mortality at the AISIS2021 online conference.

Video presentation here:
https://aisis-2021.nucleares.unam.mx/sessions/session4/welch/

The detection and identification of marine mammals is of vital importance to both regulatory bodies and commercial aquaculture industries. Knowing the locations and migration patterns of these animals can substantially improve the ability of fishing vessels to avoid them, or alert wildlife experts to animals that have become entangled more rapidly. Current methods of manually tagging marine mammals in order to track their movements by satellite are labor intensive and require some amount of luck to successfully tag the animals. Furthermore, acoustic data currently used to identify and locate marine life is processed in an inefficient manner not conducive to proactive or even reactive responses to the presence of marine life. Current processing of acoustic data involves a subaquatic recording device that is placed and then retrieved at a later date, and often the sound data is sent to third-parties for processing and identification of marine species of interest. Improvements in these processes of subaquatic acoustic detection and localization of marine mammals would have dramatic effects on aquaculture industries and species protection regulations.

To this end, operating as a Microsoft AI for Earth grantee we have formulated a passive approach for analyzing subaquatic acoustic patterns in order to identify marine mammals by taxonomic family and further identify them by genus and species. Our approach utilizes spectrogram feature generation and Recurrent Neural Networks to classify the acoustic patterns of marine mammals in order to determine the species. This model is lightweight enough to fit on microcomputers, and has highly accurate performance of 91% at the species level and 97% at the taxonomic family level. Additionally, we offer a supplemental multilateration approach to sound source localization which can accurately determine the 3D coordinates of the marine mammal relative to the hydrophone network. As such, our model can be used to monitor the locations and frequencies of marine mammal activity for use by both industries and regulatory agencies in studying the impact of aquaculture projects on the behaviors of marine mammals. Our hope is to use the data from these systems for both real-time intervention in the interest of species protection and to develop an understanding to better predict future marine mammal behavior.

#AIforscience #AIforindustry #AIforsociety

Synthetik’s AI for Earth Grant from Microsoft

Synthetik Applied Technologies has been awarded an AI for Earth grant from Microsoft to help further our efforts in improving the sustainability of the global aquaculture industry by protecting endangered marine species from deadly entanglement events at offshore facilities.

 Working directly with NOAA (the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), Synthetik’s revolutionary DeepSeaVision-AI system uses a suite of modern sensors to observe areas in and around marine aquaculture facilities. This sensor data is processed using advanced computer vision and machine learning-based methods, and when an endangered marine animal is detected, a warning system is triggered to prevent entanglement. This breakthrough technology also reduces investment and operating risks associated with offshore aquaculture by streamlining the lengthy permitting process and preventing deadly entanglement events that may prove catastrophic for the operator and the wider aquaculture industry.

 The Synthetik team has been developing AI and Machine Learning models for DARPA and the Department of Defense for nearly a decade and has been working directly with NOAA, to develop a ‘NOAA-approved’ and permit-ready monitoring system.

 “We are hugely excited to join the AI for Earth Community, and look forward to leveraging state-of-the-art technology to help secure the future of the most endangered marine species whilst supporting a sustainable offshore aquaculture industry that will play a critical roll in feeding future generations.” said Synthetik’s CEO, Peter Vonk.

 AI for Earth is a $50 million, 5-year program that brings the full advantage of Microsoft technology to those working to solve global environmental challenges in the key focus areas of climate, agriculture, water and biodiversity. Through grants that provide access to cloud and AI tools, opportunities for education and training on AI and investments in innovative, scalable solutions, AI for Earth works to advance sustainability across the globe.

 Synthetik is one of the newest organizations to be recognized by Microsoft for its impact and potential and will join a growing number of AI for Earth grantees worldwide.

 Learn more:

Synthetik Applied Technologies:
https://www.synthetik-technologies.com/synthetik_blog/synthetik-applied-technologies-receives-ai-for-earth-grant-from-microsoft

 Microsoft AI for Earth: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/aiforearth