What is drone software? How does it use AI? How can a firefighting drone also help search and rescue teams, but also aid the WWF in counting biodiversity?
To answer these questions we put together a video that explains it all!
The Danish AI-drone software company, Robotto, and the WWF (Worldwide Fund for Nature) have established a partnership where they will implement new drone technology making it cheaper and easier to count the world's wild animals. The partnership will begin by counting Greenland's musk oxen, whose habitats have drastically been affected by climate change.
The struggle to preserve and protect nature and the planet’s species requires both regular surveying and monitoring of large geographical areas, which can present major logistical and economical challenges. This means some species and areas are very rarely investigated.
Therefore, the WWF Worldwide Fund for Nature and Robotto have joined together to investigate applying new drone technology to better the monitoring of the animal population. Making it easier, cheaper, and better for the environment by replacing the very resource-intensive aircraft and helicopter counts with drones and artificial intelligence.
"It is crucial that we know the number of wild animals in order to be able to protect them in the best possible way. We are therefore excited about the collaboration with Robotto, where combining their knowledge of drones and artificial intelligence with our long experience of protecting the world's nature and animals can help to draw the contours of future nature conservation efforts. In the long run, this can make it more efficient, cheaper, and far more sustainable to count the world's many species.” Bo Øksnebjerg, Secretary-General of the WWF World Wide Fund for Nature.
"We know that our AI technology can improve the world we live in. It’s why we’re pleased that with WWF as partners we can develop drone software with artificial intelligence to secure the future of animals and aid the Greenlandic population going forward." Kenneth Geipel, Co-Founder and CEO of Robotto.
At the same time, climate change is changing the living conditions of the world's animals faster than ever before, and it is, therefore, necessary to survey more areas and count species more frequently. When you know the extent and development of an animal population, you can continuously regulate the population, and thus ultimately ensure the survival of the species.
It will be four times warmer in Greenland than in Denmark: That is why we must take action now. To begin, the two partners have the ambition to use the new technology in Greenland, which with an area of 2.2 million square kilometers makes it challenging to monitor Arctic species. This is why, scientifically recommended monitoring intervals have proven impossible, until now.
Greenland is home to approx. 25% of the world's musk oxen, where live in isolation with very severe weather conditions. The project will commence on Jameson Land in Northeast Greenland, north of the small isolated town of Ittoqqortoormiit for the first census of land mammals in Greenland using drones and advanced imaging.
“Climate change is to blame for approx. four times as high temperature rises in the Arctic compared to the rest of the world. It affects the Arctic's unique nature and animal populations to an extreme degree. Therefore, more - and not less - monitoring is needed in the Arctic so that we can ensure that animal populations are not threatened or exterminated. In Canada, climate change has resulted in some reindeer populations exceeding 90%. Back-” Bo Øksnebjerg.
The musk ox population hasn’t been surveyed since 2000 when it was estimated that the population was 1,761 musk oxen. The musk oxen are an important resource for the city of Ittoqqortoormiit, both as earnings for hunters and meat supply to the citizens. With no immediate surveying planned, finding alternative, technological methods are vital to ensure the future of both the animals and the community.
“A close collaboration with the residents of Ittoqqortoormiit is extremely important to us, as they know the area, the musk oxen, and the effects of climate change best. We look forward to working with WWF and the locals to use our technology to help register and count musk oxen, thus helping to ensure the best future and living conditions for the animals, the local community, and the ecosystem.” Kenneth Geipel.
Robotto has begun seeking sponsorships for the project, which will commence at the start of 2023. Sponsors will make it possible to secure both the planet's and the animals' future because it is crucial that we understand the effects of climate change in the Arctic to be able to react and put it where it matters most.
The WWF Worldwide Fund for Nature is the Danish part of the World Wide Fund for Nature, which is one of the world's largest and most influential environmental and nature protection organizations with offices in more than 100 countries. Globally, WWF has more than five million supporters, and we are working on approximately 1,200 projects. Our mission is to build a future where people live in h harmony with nature.
The WWF office in Greenland is part of WWF Denmark and has been represented by a local office in Nuuk for the past 6 years. WWF in Greenland has a special focus on preserving Greenlandic nature and working closely with locals and decision-makers on a sustainable agenda.
Robotto is an award-winning Danish drone software company founded in 2019 that develops drone technology using artificial intelligence and computer vision. The technology supports organizations for e.g., identification and analysis of forest fires, identification of missing individuals faster, as well as improvement of resource management across industries - and now biodiversity counting.
Wow!! We’re honored to have received the title of Denmark’s best climate idea.
The judges were on the lookout for an idea that reduced CO2 emissions, helped us adjust and deal with the climate crisis, and could be implemented right away. Robotto ticked all three boxes.
In collaboration with the Footprint firm, a study of historical fire data and firsthand interviews with Nordjyllands Bredskab and GRAF Bombers in Spain showed the following:
1. The ability to minimize burn sizes by 60%. In the beginning hours of a wildfire, firefighters use manpower to survey and understand the fire, giving it time to grow. With Robotto, both firefighting teams saw the ability to understand the first much faster, giving them the ability to begin fire suppression methods sooner, putting out the fire faster.
2. The ability to save between 50 and 70% of man-hours. When you’re able to put the fire out faster, you require less support from your team.
3. The ability to reduce emissions by 60%. Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service* (CAMS) found that in 2021 wildfires emitted 148% more than the entire EU fossil fuel industry in 2020. It is imperative we find a way to control these extreme fires, as they will only continue to grow in frequency and ferocity as the planet continues to warm. With Robotto Fire, the professionals at the Footprint Firm found that with the reduced burn size, the estimated reduction in emissions would be 60%.
Approximately 840 million tones burn yearly worldwide. That’s the same as 28 Denmark’s were ablaze yearly. If Robotto Fire is used in only 10% of these fires, it would mean more than if Denmark stopped emitting CO2 altogether. (Denmark emits 61 million tons of CO2 yearly.)
Many believe that to reduce emissions, we must reduce our consumption, and change our lifestyles altogether- and while that may be true to some extent, solutions that tackle issues beyond the reach of the everyday consumer have the potential to impact global emissions on a much larger scale. It’s important that, on a whole, we support innovative solutions that go beyond the consumer’s personal responsibility, and look to influence practices within supply chains and governmental practices to reduce emissions across the board.
Since 2019, the team has been perfecting the development of the software after the completion of their Aalborg University Project (which inspired the software). After tedious testing both in simulation and in the field with Nordjyllands Beredskab and GRAF Bombers in Spain, the software is ready for use by the world’s fire services. By the taping of the show, we could announce that two licenses had been sold to DEMA, Denmark’s emergency services, and that we had grown our distributor network, with a new distributor in South Africa. These advancements on the commercial side displayed actual interest in the software, showing them the software’s ability to make changes not tomorrow, but today!
We look forward to utilizing the prize money to further commercialize the software and acquire a fixed-wing drone so that we can increase the time in the sky, giving the software and firefighters more time to gather a fuller understanding of the situation below.
Let us know if you would like to learn more about the software!
At the beginning of May, the team traveled the 255 km to Svinninge, where TV2 tapped the final of their new show Min Idé – Vores Mission (Your Idea, Our Mission). We all arrived at 10 am, where we were welcomed by host and comedian Lasse Rimmer.
As Robotto was the last participant to make it to the finals, we had to wait the entire day as the three other participants made their way into the studio to present for the second time in front of the five judges. (Puk Elegård, Claus Dalby, Tommy Ahlers, Selma de Montegomery, Anders Morgenthaler).
First up was Mewalii who is focused on providing young girls with sustainable menstrual products made out of Hemp on a subscription basis. After their presentation, Stop Spil Lokalt, a grassroots organization helping supermarkets and communities in the fight against food waste had their turn in front of the judges.
Before it was our turn to present, Hemboo, who has created a unique new cement formula based on hemp and bamboo, helping reduce emissions from one of the most pollutive industries in the world.
As this was the final, production had placed two chairs in the studio. After Hemboo’s presentation, it was time for the judges to determine, who out of the three participants in front of them would continue to compete for the 500.000 DKK.
Co-founder and CEO Kenneth Richard Geipel was preparing his pitch as the rest of the team saw the two founders of Mewalii make their way out of the studio, as they had received the news they wouldn’t be going further.
Then it was our turn… we all made our way into the studio as Kenneth took his spot in front of the cameras. He dove right into his pitch, presenting Robotto Fire’s immense potential impact on wildfire emissions, as well as our new partnership with the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF).
As Kenneth spoke the team was nervously standing by, trying to gain as much information from Christine as she translated via slack (while also nervously shaking). Once Kenneth finished his presentation the judges began asking him questions for him to expand upon. Then it was time for them to decide if we should be considered as a part of the final two participants.
After some back and forth, they decided we would replace Hemboo, moving us one step closer to becoming “Denmark’s best climate idea”. The judges were then given a half-hour to think it over while we were offered a snack and something to drink. Then it was time to hear their decision. Once again, we were ushered into the studio, this time the entire team to be placed in front of the cameras. The judges lined up in front of the two groups of potential winners and Tommy Ahlers began to speak.
As Tommy Ahlers spoke about their process of finding a winner, we began to have a feeling, that we wouldn’t be chosen as a winner. Suddenly Tommy Ahlers said, “and the winner is….” With a pause that felt like it went on forever, announcing that ROBOTTO WAS THE WINNER!
The judges walked over and handed us a framed drawing by Anders Morgenthaler of the five judges and the number 500.000. Confetti rained down and we celebrated the fact that others have seen the ingenuity in an idea that goes beyond changing our personal behavior, tackling emitters that go beyond the consumer’s personal reasonability.
We celebrated with some champagne and snacks before the team made the 225 km trip back to Aalborg. (With a stop at KFC that made the American VERY happy.)