Robots, Starfish, Artificial Intelligence, & Conservation. Its not very often that these four things are put into the same headline, but when it comes to saving the great barrier reef, all of these things are coming together to help save the coral! One of the main threats to this world-renowned ecosystem is the Crown of Thorns starfish (Acanthaster planci), as large outbreaks of these starfish can devastate reefs. In 2000, an outbreak contributed to the loss of 66% of live coral cover on sampled reefs in a study by the RRC (Reefs Research Center). Outbreaks are believed to occur in natural cycles, but are worsened by poor water quality and overfishing of the starfish's predators. Culling these populations will be made easier with a newly designed robot, the COTSbot, that has been designed by the univeristy of Technology, in Queensland Australia. The COTSbot, using artificial intellegence to identify the target at 99.4% accuracy in laboratory tests.A fleet ofCOTSbots could supplement the human labor force that is used currently to remove/ poison the sea stars, as COTSbots can be used during bad weather, high currents, and they can also be used during the night when the starfish are more active but it is prohibited for swimming.
Even though these Sea Stars are local to the great barrier reef there population numbers can decimate smaller reefs. with the robots being able to recognise them and being able to introduce them when the populations boom.
Just to show how much impact a unmonitored starfish population can have.
you can read more about the robot on this link;
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-starfish-killing-artificially-intelligent-robot-is-set-to-patrol-the-great-barrier-reef/
Picture by: Matt Kieffer