Using artificial intelligence techniques to identify the faces of chimpanzees in the forest

San Francisco – Researchers at Oxford University have developed a computer program that can recognize the face of chimpanzees in forests, which could help ecologists save time and unnecessary resources in viewing and analyzing wildlife. videos. In which whole families of monkeys appear for long periods.

"For some animal species such as chimpanzees who live a complex social life for years, analyzing videos on their behavior during field research helps us to collect a lot of information," says the researcher Dan Schofield, primate specialist at Oxford University. By harnessing the potential of artificial intelligence to analyze long videos, we will be able to measure the long-term behavioral trends of these animals, such as tracking changes in social interactions within a community. particular group of primates over a long period.

According to the Science Daily website, the new artificial intelligence system relies on more than 10 million images obtained from the archives of the primate research department of Kyoto University, which includes videos of chimpanzees from Guinea, West Africa.

This new program is the first of its kind to consistently recognize monkey faces from different angles and in the worst shooting conditions, such as lack of light, poor image quality and others. factors.

"As the biodiversity crises worsen and an increasing number of threatened endangered ecosystems are spreading around the world, the ability to closely monitor different animal species at the same time is important. The use of electronic systems will be crucial for future environmental protection efforts, "he said.