Series of images related to a technology used to draw maps during a fight fire emergency
Environment

Mapping the Inferno: Using computer vision to map wildfires

An AI-powered eye in the sky is helping firefighters control woodland blazes. California used maps drawn by neural networks to fight fires that threatened Yosemite National Park earlier this year.
Different images from NSF AI Institute
Environment

U.S. Proposes National AI Centers: U.S. proposes $180 million for AI research.

The White House called for new funding for AI research including a constellation of research centers. Nonetheless, the U.S. government’s annual spending on the technology still would lag behind that of several other...
Data related to AI technology capable of spotting birds with sound and sight
Environment

Birdwatching With AI: A computer vision system recognizes individual birds.

Neural networks learned to tell one bird from another, enabling scientists to study their behavior in greater detail. Researchers from universities in Europe and Africa trained eural networks to recognize individual birds with up to 90 percent accuracy.
Images containing various atlas and graphs
Environment

Underwater Atlas: Deep learning helps scientists map undersea ecosystems.

The ocean contains distinct ecosystems, but they’re much harder to see than terrestrial forests or savannas. A new model helps scientists better understand patterns of undersea life, which is threatened by pollution, invasive species, and warming temperatures.
Pumpjacks extracting oil during sunset
Environment

Do Oil and Algorithms Mix?: Amazon, Google, and Microsoft built AI tools for big oil.

Amazon, Google, and Microsoft are developing machine learning tools for the fossil fuel industry even as they pledge to limit greenhouse gas emissions.
Beaches buried in plastic and garbage
Environment

Seeing Sea Plastic: Computer vision spots ocean trash from satellite imagery.

A machine learning model is scanning the oceans for the glint of garbage. Researchers from the UK’s Plymouth Marine Laboratory trained a model to identify ocean-borne refuse.
Series of images and data related to a tool that maps where hurricanes and other calamities have wiped out roads
Environment

Roads to Recovery: AI maps the route through disaster zones

Deep learning promises to help emergency responders find their way through disaster zones. MIT researchers developed a tool that maps where hurricanes and other calamities have wiped out roads, helping to show aid workers the fastest ways to get to people in need.
Data and graphs related to equations that optimize some training parameters.
Environment

Optimize Your Training Parameters: Research on finding a neural net's optimal batch size

Last week we reported on a formula to determine model width and dataset size for optimal performance. A new paper contributes equations that optimize some training parameters.
Two pandas eating
Environment

What Love Sounds Like: AI system recognizes the sounds of mating pandas.

Female giant pandas are fertile for only 24 to 36 hours a year: Valentine’s Day on steroids. A new neural network alerts human keepers when a panda couple mates.
Heat map of Europe
Environment

Extreme Weather Warning: Deep learning system helps predict extreme temperatures.

Severe heat waves and cold snaps are especially hard to forecast because atmospheric perturbations can have effects that are difficult to compute. Neural networks show promise where typical methods have stumbled.
Solar panels
Environment

Solar Power Heats Up: How solar thermal plants use AI to maximize energy output

Solar-thermal power plants concentrate the sun’s energy using huge arrays of mirrors. AI is helping those arrays stay in focus.
Underwater camera detecting fish
Environment

Fish Recognition

A deep learning system is helping biologists who survey offshore fish populations to prevent overfishing. The U.S. agency in charge of protecting ocean resources is using an underwater camera and neural network to count fish in real time.

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