Multispectral Desert Fauna Surveillance and Recognition System

ABSTRACT: This Phase II effort will significantly expand upon our novel animal tracking and recognition work accomplished during Phase I, culminating in the development and construction of two different types of system prototypes. Part I of the Base effort will focus on enhancing the algorithms that we explored in Phase I, leading to a complete end-to-end software pipeline that will be evaluated on laboratory test data. Part II of the Base effort will focus on the construction of an economical SmartPhone based prototype, including custom optics, ruggedized housing, and a self-contained power system, with physical elements developed by our partner ICx Technologies. This prototype will be evaluated in the field by our team of biologists led by Dr. Phil Leitner. Our Option effort will focus on the construction of a more traditional military oriented field system based on the TRSS Imager-II platform from our partner Level 3 Communications. At the conclusion of Phase II, the Edwards Air Force Base Environmental Management team will have an animal monitoring capability well beyond any that exists today. BENEFIT: The immediate benefit for the DoD is clear this effort will produce an animal monitoring capability that is able to detect, track and recognize threatened and endangered species at stand-off ranges that do not interfere with the habitat of the target creatures. This valuable tool can be used for proper land management and to ensure compliance with federal and state laws protecting certain species. Beyond this immediate use, several important commercial areas exist. Biologists can utilize this system for large-scale fieldwork its low price making it attractive to academics with limited budgets. In the broader surveillance space, the ability to classify targets is of much interest to solutions providers, and brings this technology to broad markets far removed from the study of animals.