Just days after kākāpō were released back onto the New Zealand mainland for the first time in 40 years, New Zealand's most vulnerable taonga species are set to benefit from a new tool in their fight for survival – artificial intelligence.
A new piece of software, developed by not-for-profit Cacophony Project in Christchurch, utilises AI to scour through hours of video captured by cameras placed in the bush.
"We don't need somebody to sit there for hours watching every recording before we can work out that last night, there were seven possums and three stoats in that area – the AI can do that for us," project director Matthew Hellicar said.
Not only can the AI software analyse the footage and detect what's triggered the cameras in the first place, but it can compile all the results into one easy report with the quantifiable data.
In scenarios where it can't clearly identify the animal, it would flag up the need for human verification.
Hallicar said it's particularly good at weeding out 'false positive' results, where something like a gust of wind or falling leaves can trigger the camera.
"So the human doesn't have to waste time going through images that are basically just a bit of moving grass," he said.
"This is about making ourselves more useful and making better use of the people that we do have."
And the Department of Conservation agrees, with the project winning a slice of DOC's latest funding round, worth $1.8 million across five projects.
DOC's landscape threat science manager, Clayson Howell, said they can't yet quantify how much time and human resources this new tool could save, but is "pretty confident we can do more for the same with better tools".
He said DOC is "constantly looking to iteratively improve the tools we do have, as well as always being open to new tools and different ways of working that might be more efficient and more effective".
"Predator Free 2050 is a long way off. We think that investing in these technologies now will iteratively help us get there."
Currently, the AI software is paired up with Cacophony Project's thermal cameras, which are already in use in the bush around Christchurch.
The aim is to develop the software so that it can do the same work of analysing footage, and providing a breakdown of raw data, across all of DOC's existing trail cameras.
"So that means we can report and understand what's in the bush in one place," Hellicar said.
"You get one platform where you can see everything that's coming from the thermal cameras, and you can see everything that's coming from the trail cams [and] can save a lot of effort for the people who are trying to actually monitor what's in the bush."
They're also working on a second project that's received DOC funding around improving the hardware in the bush in the first place.
Cacophony are already working on a prototype thermal camera that's lighter and better-performing with longer battery life, meaning fewer trips to replace batteries or SD cards.
"We already have a prototype today that's showing about half the power usage, and we think we know how to decrease that even further," Hellicar said.
It should also reduce the cost of their thermal cameras from around $3000 to nearly a third of the cost.
They're hoping that will mean more organisations like local predator free groups and privately-funded conservation groups will be able to access their new tools.
"Our goal with with the Cacophony Project is to bring this technology into the hands of volunteers and everyone who's who's working around New Zealand to solve the predator free issue," he said.
DOC received 33 applications for the Tools to Market funding round after a call for registrations of interest in January 2022. They have funded 13 projects since 2017 including new lures, toxins, traps and predator detection devices.
Among the other tools to receive funding alongside the Cacophony Project are a new long-life lure targeting rats, possums and mustelids, as well as a bait drop system that utilises drones or unmanned aerial vehicles.
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