Artificial intelligence in battle against lionfish

Artificial intelligence can become the latest weapon in the battle against lionfish. The company, NeuralStudio, is working on a 'hunter drone' that can recognise and eliminate lionfish. The idea comes from Matthew Elphinstone, an intern who worked for the company. NeuralStudio specializes in advanced software that can learn from data. The lionfish is an invasive species that destroys ecosystems around the world.

Lionfish control

The device can detect the lionfish with 99.9 percent accuracy. The next step is to develop the hardware to make the software work autonomously. The system could be linked to a drone, which searches for the lionfish in a search and destroy mission. The system is self-learning. By 'feeding' the software with thousands of images of lionfish and other species, a specific neural network has developed that can faultlessly identify the lionfish. Matthew Elphinstone developed the neural network in collaboration with the company's director, Jack Copper. Elphinstone, who is studying at Queens University in Canada, wants to return to NeuralStudio this summer to further develop the project.