Multispectral Desert Fauna Surveillance and Recognition System

ABSTRACT: In Phase I, Cybernet worked with the Air Force to design and create an automated monitoring system for gathering census data about potentially endangered species to assist with compliance with the Sikes act. This Animal Detection Module (ADM) features visible and infrared cameras, a relational database for stored still pictures, video, and metadata, and Cybernet"s cutting edge image processing software. The ADM is capable of detecting the movements of small animals at more than 100 yards distance, discerning their distinguishing features, identifying their species, and recording video footage tagged with appropriate meta-data. The recorded data can be transferred from the field and analyzed for more information, such as gender, age, and health of the observed animals. By identifying the number of a particular species seen in a given area, the Air Force can make better land use choices regarding Edwards Air Force Base and its Mojave Desert habitat. This technology is also of interest to other Federal and State land agencies, such as the Michigan department of Fish and Wildlife, for their state park census needs. Cybernet proposes to develop the Phase I work into a fieldable unit and proceed to Operational Test and Evaluation at Edwards AFB. BENEFIT: Our first planned product is the fieldable, productized version of the Phase II prototype system. This will be sold as a stand-alone wildlife"camera trap". There are 440 military bases in the continental United States, many of which are now de-facto refuges for wildlife. In addition, the US Department of Transportation requires wildlife surveys before they can plan new road construction. The US Environmental Protection Agency requires that environmental impact is assessed before any construction takes place on undeveloped land. This indicates a sizeable market for sensor systems of this kind. Fort Irwin, California is an Army base that shares the same habitat and regulations as Edwards Air Force Base, so would be a logical choice as a second customer. There are myriad potential commercial and DoD applications for this technology. Our primary approach will to provide the Air Force with an advanced, robust animal tracking and identification solution, but useful for other applications as well. This will include both the computer vision algorithms that provide position/orientation and identification information, as well as the interface and database integration necessary to implement a useable product.