IBM and WWF’s AI Revolution to Protect Elephants in Africa
The African forest elephant has experienced a decrease of more than 80% in their populations in the Congo Basin.
Elephants are considered a ‘keystone species’, having a significant effect on the health of ecosystems.
In a bid to protect Africa’s forest elephants, WWF Germany and IBM are working together to research the development of new technical solutions using AI to improve elephant monitoring.
Oday Abbosh, Global Sustainability Services Leader at IBM Consulting, says: "At IBM, we strive to make a lasting, positive impact on the world in business, our environment, and the communities in which we work and live.
“Our collaboration with WWF marks a significant step forward in this effort.
“By combining our expertise in technology and sustainability with WWF's conservation expertise, we aim to leverage the power of technology to create a more sustainable future."
IBM
IBM stands for International Business Machines Corporation, a giant present in over 175 countries.
Founded in 1911, the company is the largest industrial research organisation in the world.
Since 2000 its supercomputers have consistently ranked among the most powerful in the world.
As part of its sustainability commitment, the company is committed to achieving net zero GHG emissions by 2030.
Arvind Krishna, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer at IBM, says: “While we are proud of the progress we have made, we are mindful that advancing our environmental, social, and governance goals is a continuous journey of improvement.”
World Wide Fund for Nature
Founded in 1961, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) works to preserve wildlife and reduce human impact on the environment.
Since 1995 it has invested over US$1bn in more than 12,000 conservation initiatives.
Carter Roberts, President and CEO at the WWF, says: “People look to WWF and its leadership to bring imagination and perseverance to the important work of conservation, and to build bridges between government, civil society and business in devising solutions at the scale of the challenges we face.
“The world demands no less of us.”
How IBM and the WWF work together
IBM Consulting is working with the WWF to create an innovative solution to elephant tracking.
Using IBM Maximo Visual Inspection, images from camera traps and film will be used to identify individual African forest elephants with greater accuracy than before.
This use case currently focuses on head and tusk-related image recognition, similar to a human fingerprint.
Kendra DeKeyrel, Vice President of ESG and Asset Management Production Leader at IBM, says: “This collaboration exemplifies how technological innovation can serve as a catalyst for positive global change.
“At IBM, we are committed to sustainability and support our partners in creating solutions with significant impact, highlighting the transformative power of technology in protecting our planet.”
African forest elephants
It is estimated that at least a third of tree species in central African forests rely on elephants to distribute their seeds.
Before they can germinate, the seeds of many plant species are dependent on passing through an elephant’s digestive system.
Elephants also make paths in dense forested habitats that allow other animals to pass through.
Their footprints can enable micro-ecosystems, even housing tadpoles when filled with water.
Dr. Thomas Breuer, Central Africa Officer at WWF Germany, explains: "Counting African forest elephants has so far been difficult and the population figures obtained are unfortunately not particularly precise.
“The ability to use artificial intelligence to identify individual elephants in camera trap images has the potential to revolutionise elephant monitoring in the rainforest.
“With AI, we can not only provide more reliable population estimates, but also, for the first time, understand when which individuals are where and which paths they use.
“With this knowledge, we can then, for example, better protect migration corridors and defuse human-animal conflicts.”
IBM Maximo Visual Inspection
Described as ‘no-code computer vision’, IBM Maximo Visual Inspection uses AI capabilities to detect through cameras.
On top of tracking elephants, the software is used by Ford to reduce defects and downtime on its factory floor.
Scott King, Manager & Principal Technologist for Advanced Manufacturing IT at Ford Motor Company, says: “By bringing the power of IBM’s deep AI capabilities, deployable on cost-effective edge infrastructure, and into the cloud to share across our plants, Maximo Visual Inspection has enabled higher quality for our vehicles and our customers.”
The software for accurate defect detection 24/7 that continuously improves and provides the flexibility to train and deploy anywhere.
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