The GIRAFFE big data-driven AI tool developed by Microsoft tracks giraffes and allows a more rapid, scalable method of locating and monitoring wild populations.

The AI tool named GIRAFFE has been opened to the publisher and built by Microsoft in collaboration with the Wild Nature Institute to transform wildlife conservation taking advantage of big data. Computer vision has been used to allow the tool to determine the identity of individual giraffes by analyzing their spot patterns and hence significantly reducing the time of data analysis by conservationists.

GIRAFFE is redefining wildlife tracking operations, which were previously manually driven, by utilizing big data to centrally handle thousands of images, automate annotations, and maintain accurate records. The images taken most of them of the right side of the giraffe get into a powerful catalog keeping your identification quick.

With big data infrastructure, the AI engine of the platform demonstrates an accuracy level of more than 90 percent with images being processed in less than two seconds. This will enable scholars to draw important information concerning survival, migration and the health of populations; things essential in the protection of the endangered giraffes in Tanzania.

GIRAFFE is a new framework for applying big data, featuring a scalable and user-friendly design specifically tailored for environmental science. The design of the tool can be modified to other species with a pattern, such as zebras or tigers which gives a greater conservation opportunity, as action can be driven by data.