Artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled tracking collars are being deployed across South African reserves to support anti-poaching efforts and provide conservation teams with earlier warnings of potential threats to endangered wildlife, reports Forbes Africa.
Developed by Rouxcel Technology, the solar-aided RhinoWatch collar uses GPS and AI to monitor rhino behaviour and detect abnormal activity in real time. The system issues grey, amber or red alerts depending on the severity of the behaviour detected and how closely it resembles a possible poaching incident.
According to Rouxcel Technology Founder SP le Roux, the technology intends to give anti-poaching teams the location and timing information needed to respond more effectively. In a potential incident, a thermal drone can be deployed to assess the situation and guide the response.
The technology has been adapted for pangolins and elephants.
Le Roux told Forbes Africa that the collars have been deployed in more than 60 of South Africa’s largest reserves with total deployments approaching 2 000. Interest has also been shown in Namibia, Zimbabwe, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Kenya.
