SharkEye Scores A Bullseye By Identifying Shark Species From The Air
Technology and the sea is a partnership that is beginning to flourish as we close out this decade. Ten years ago, if you had been asked what comes to mind when you hear the words “Drones” and “Artificial Intelligence” you’d have been forgiven for perhaps thinking of military grade flying weapons, and the somewhat macabre humanoids from Will Smith’s 2004 blockbuster “I, Robot”.
As the decade went on, these two pieces of technology became more of the norm, as opposed to the frightening prospects they were once believed to be. You’d be hard pressed not to find the occasional ‘DJI Phantom’ buzzing above your heads on a beach, at a sporting event or even your backgarden, and AI has quietly crept into our backpockets in the form of our mobile phones.
Scientists, however, are now using these technologies in positive ways, in an attempt to solve problems we have in relation to the sea. Negative interactions between sharks and surfers is not something that’s new, and these interactions appear to be on an upwards trend as more and more people enter the water.
Gone are the days of fleets of boats donned with armed spotters positioned just offshore, ready to pounce on any shark that may decide to stray too close to the beach, as demonstrated perfectly by Chief Brody et al on that sunny July the 4th in Amity. Drones are now being used by scientists in California, to monitor the presence of Great white sharks inhabiting the offshore waters of Padaro Beach in Santa Barbara county.
Dr. Douglas McCauley, an avid surfer and now professor at the University of California, with a team of scientists has created “The Sharkeye project”. Researchers fly drones with cameras off Padaro beach for two hours every weekday, collecting images of the marine life below. These images are then fed into models that train the AI algorithm to detect and count Great white sharks. With each extra data point, the algorithm gets a little smarter at being able to detect the sharks.
“The... shark surveillance at this beach [before] essentially was to put out a standup paddleboarder, a highschool kid, with a pair of sunglasses and a whistle” Dr. McCauley said. “They would blow the whistle when they saw a shark and the kids would come back in. I thought, surely there has to be something that we can do to help”.
The findings from the drone flights are relayed every day to surf instructors and lifeguards, and the end goal is to replace the human observers with a computer, mounted on the drone, which is able to transmit shark sighting data in real time to the beach. This could potentially switch on a warning light, or generate an alert on a mobile app, in situations where the risk of a negative interaction with a large shark is high.
The Sharkeye project is designed to be affordable around the world, in locations where humans and sharks come into close contact. With their increasing popularity drones are now relatively cheap and the AI tools can be shared with ease.
The drones will unfortunately never completely eradicate the danger of swimming in areas where these sharks live and hunt, because a drone cannot detect every shark. However, it can be used as an additional tool to help lessen adverse interactions between humans and sharks. Ultimately there is always a risk when you enter the water, the same as when you step on an aeroplane, or sit in your car. Statistically you are actually more likely to meet an untimely demise in those latter two activities, than you are to fall foul to a shark.
Words by Kristian Parton
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