- Alaska expedition: July 7-15
- Expedition will be broadcast on the occasion of National Geographic’s EARTH LIVE initiative
- Mission’s goal is to use drones and AI to collect data from whales
Today, July 7th, Parley for the Oceans, Intel and SnotBot have departed for a 10 day expedition to Alaska, where they will be using AI and drone technology to collect data from whales.
The expedition will be part of EARTH LIVE, a National Geographic initiative that will bring global viewers a night of unprecedented LIVE wildlife programming across National Geographic, Nat Geo WILD and Nat Geo MUNDO networks on Sunday, July 9, at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. The two-hour live broadcast is the first of this magnitude.
Under the leadership of the marine biologist Dr. Iain Kerr, CEO of Ocean Alliance, Parley SnotBot is dedicated to advancing research and education focused on conserving whales and the oceans that sustain them—which in turn sustains us. This quest begins with scientific research and a commitment to preserve and protect ocean habitat.
To meet the challenge of gathering data from whales, Kerr and a collaborative team developed Parley SnotBot, modified drones that collect the blow, or snot, exhaled from whales when they surface to breathe. That blow is rich with biological data, including DNA, stress and pregnancy hormones, viruses, bacteria and toxins. The Parley SnotBot devices then relay collected samples to researchers on ships that are a comfortable distance away from the whales.
To further this research, Intel is powering the expedition with technology and its artificial intelligence (AI) and drone technologies to boost the science and expeditions of Parley and its collaborator network. This research is focused on analyzing the health of whales, the ocean environment and, ultimately, the health of humanity.
“The partnership with Intel is helping us to boost our new approach of ocean exploration, where small and inexpensive research vessels create fast insight and generate big data, without harassing or harming marine wildlife.” – Cyrill Gutsch, founder of Parley for the Oceans.
Intel is excited to team with Parley for the Oceans to aid its research and development initiatives, supporting Parley SnotBot by providing AI and drone technology for future expeditions with the goal of improving data analysis. With Intel’s expertise in smart and connected technologies, we can download data from the drones to machines running algorithms that can identify a particular whale and assess its health in real-time. Artificial intelligence makes it possible to do this even in the presence of confounding factors, such as the whale’s unpredictable movements and limited ocean visibility.
Parley SnotBot data-gathering efforts are powered by Intel technology today, and in the future, Intel drones will be phased into the Parley SnotBot initiatives. The Falcon 8+ is an example of such a drone designed for robust flight performance and precision, and can be used in rugged environments that ocean conditions often present.
This expertise and technology will help the alliance researchers make more timely decisions in their immediate mission and allow them to more quickly act upon data that informs the longer-term health of our oceans and humanity.
To see Parley SnotBot in action, along with some beautiful images of whales, visit
http://www.parley.tv/updates/snotbot-how-drones-are-changing-whale-research?rq=snotbot
About Parley for the Oceans
Parley is the collaboration network where creators, thinkers and leaders come together to raise awareness for the beauty and fragility of our oceans and collaborate on strategies that can end their destruction. Headquartered in New York, Parley is known for renaming sustainability into ‘Eco Innovation,’ a concept realized through its high calibre collaborations and the introduction of Ocean Plastic™, a range of premium materials for the sports, fashion and luxury industries made from upcycled marine plastic debris.
Parley understands current plastic is a design failure, seeing the long-term solution for marine plastic pollution in the redesign of the harmful material. In the meantime, Parley created a catalyst innovation that provides an immediate replacement for new, virgin plastic: Ocean Plastic™. Together with its partners, in the last five years Parley raised awareness for the issue, boosted the general image of recycling and established the first global supply chain for marine plastic debris. Additionally, Parley created a funding mechanism that financially allows the implementation of the Parley AIR Strategy in four key areas: Communication and Education, Direct Impact, Research and Development, and Eco-Innovation.