Accenture, Intel and Sulubaaï Environmental Foundation Use Artificial Intelligence to Save Coral Reefs
22 April 2020 - 2:01PM
Business Wire
Accenture (NYSE: ACN), Intel and the Philippines-based Sulubaaï
Environmental Foundation have developed a new solution powered by
artificial intelligence (AI) to monitor, characterize and analyze
coral reef resiliency. The solution — the work product of Project:
CORaiL, an initiative the three organizations created in 2019 — has
been deployed in a reef in the Philippines since last year.
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Accenture, Intel and Sulubaaï
Environmental Foundation use artificial intelligence to rebuild the
coral reef surrounding the Pangatalan Island in the Philippines.
(Photo: Business Wire)
Coral reefs are some of the world’s most diverse ecosystems,
with more than eight hundred species of corals building and
providing habitats and shelter for approximately 25% of global
marine life. The reefs also benefit humans — protecting coastlines
from tropical storms, providing food and income for 1 billion
people, and generating US$9.6 billion in tourism and recreation
annually. But reefs are being endangered and rapidly degraded by
overfishing, bottom trawling, warming temperatures and
unsustainable coastal development.
“Project: CORaiL is an incredible example of how AI and edge
computing can be used to help researchers monitor and restore the
coral reef. We are very proud to partner with Accenture and the
Sulubaaï Environmental Foundation on this important effort to
protect our planet,” said Rose Schooler, corporate vice president
in Intel’s sales and marketing group.
A critical element of Project: CORaiL was to identify the number
and variety of fish around a reef, which serve as an important
indicator of overall reef health. Traditional coral reef monitoring
efforts involve human divers manually capturing video footage and
photos of the reef. In addition to being dangerous and
time-intensive, this approach can disrupt marine life, as divers
might inadvertently frighten fish into hiding.
Engineers from Accenture, Intel and Sulubaaï implemented an
artificial, concrete reef — called a Sulu-Reef Prosthesis (SRP) —
to provide support for unstable coral fragments underwater. The SRP
was designed by Sulubaaï and placed in the reef surrounding the
Pangatalan Island in the Philippines. Fragments of living coral
were planted on it and will grow and expand, providing a hybrid
habitat for fish and marine life.
The engineers then strategically placed intelligent underwater
video cameras, equipped with the Accenture Applied Intelligence
Video Analytics Services Platform (VASP), to detect and photograph
fish as they pass by. VASP uses AI, powered by Intel Xeon, Intel
FPGA Programmable Acceleration Cards and Intel Movidius VPU, to
count and classify the marine life. The data is then sent to a
surface dashboard, providing analytics and trends to researchers on
the ground in real-time, enabling them to make data-driven
decisions that will help the reef progress.
“The value of your data depends on how quickly you can glean
insights to make decisions from it,” said Athina Kanioura,
Accenture’s chief analytics officer and Accenture Applied
Intelligence lead. “With the ability to do real-time analysis on
streaming video, VASP enables us to tap into a rich data source —
in effect doing ‘hands on’ monitoring without disrupting the
underwater environment.”
Since being deployed in May 2019, the solution has collected
roughly 40,000 images, which researchers have used to gauge reef
health in real-time.
“Artificial intelligence provides unprecedented opportunities to
solve some of society’s most vexing problems,” said Jason Mitchell,
a managing director in Accenture’s Communications, Media &
Technology practice and the company’s client lead for Intel. “Our
ecosystem of corporate and social partners for this ‘AI for social
good’ project proves that strength in numbers can make a positive
environmental impact.”
Engineers from Accenture and Intel are already at work on the
next-gen Project: CORaiL prototype, which will include an optimized
convolutional neural network and a backup power supply. They are
also looking into infra-red cameras which will enable videos at
night to create a complete picture of the coral ecosystem.
Additional uses could include studying the migration rate of
tropical fish to colder countries and monitoring intrusion in
protected or restricted underwater areas.
About Accenture
Accenture is a leading global professional services company,
providing a broad range of services in strategy and consulting,
interactive, technology and operations, with digital capabilities
across all of these services. We combine unmatched experience and
specialized capabilities across more than 40 industries — powered
by the world’s largest network of Advanced Technology and
Intelligent Operations centers. With 509,000 people serving clients
in more than 120 countries, Accenture brings continuous innovation
to help clients improve their performance and create lasting value
across their enterprises. Visit us at www.accenture.com.
About Intel
Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) is an industry leader, creating
world-changing technology that enables global progress and enriches
lives. Inspired by Moore’s Law, we continuously work to advance the
design and manufacturing of semiconductors to help address our
customers’ greatest challenges. By embedding intelligence in the
cloud, network, edge and every kind of computing device, we unleash
the potential of data to transform business and society for the
better. To learn more about Intel’s innovations, go to
newsroom.intel.com and intel.com.
About Sulubaaï Environmental Foundation
Created in 2012, Sulubaaï Environmental Foundation (SEF) is a
Philippine-based non-profit organization dedicated to conserve,
protect, and restore the natural resources of Palawan through
environmentally sustainable practices and active ecosystems
restoration. Its action is mainly focused on the island of
Pangatalan and its surroundings in Shark Bay. To learn more, visit
https://sulubaai-foundation.com/.
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Melissa Curtis Accenture +1 617 488 5219
Melissa.curtis@accenture.com
Kathryn Rosati Accenture +1 917 452 6662
kathryn.rosati@accenture.com
Liz Wu Intel +1 (503) 696-2098 Liz.wu@intel.com
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