Thanks to advances in deep-sea imaging technology and remotely operated vehicles, researchers can now collect large amounts of visual data from the deep ocean. This includes photos and videos of marine life, all of which is available in MBARI's open source image database. Fathom Net. AI can help researchers analyze this large amount of visual data more efficiently, but experts are still needed to ensure that AI can correctly classify and categorize aquatic life.
“We need stakeholders to continually validate and train. [AI] model. And right now, only a small number of experts can do that,” Carlsen said.
To solve this problem, FathomVerse is enlisting marine enthusiasts around the world to help review and label images so that AI can correctly recognize marine animals. “We took inspiration from community science apps like iNaturalist and eBird, and we are building this training and validation effort so more people can join the effort to improve the AI used in ocean exploration. We set out to gamify the process,” Carlsen added.
Part of the inspiration for this idea comes from another game, Pokémon Go. At the height of the pandemic, Kakani Katija saw a resurgence in games where players walk around and use their smartphones to catch Pokémon, imaginary creatures with special powers. She said this type of game is a cultural phenomenon.
“People spend time and effort searching for animals that don't even exist. We've created a generation that can explain every detail of each Pokemon,” Katya said.
“We wanted to see the same excitement in marine life.”
Katija is a principal engineer at MBARI and led the development of FathomVerse. She said there is a huge knowledge gap when it comes to the ocean.
“The idea that animals have evolved over a very long time to do incredible things, to survive in very difficult and difficult places, is important if we don't understand them properly. “If we can observe it, there may be secrets that we can uncover,” she said.
To develop FathomVerse, Katija and MBARI software engineers collaborated with game design experts &ranj Serious Games (a Netherlands-based game development studio focused on positive behavior change through play) and Kenya We teamed up with Internet of Elephants, a nature tech company based in , to focus on rekindling relationships. people and wildlife.
“This game is an opportunity to accelerate our ability to observe sea life, while also sharing the excitement and wonder of the animals we see with a wider audience,” Katya said. It's also an opportunity to engage in AI research and “present the use of AI in a very good light.”
