GSTS expands Maritime AI application suite to support endangered marine species
OCIANA Maritime AI platform will be used to detect and support the protection of the
North Atlantic right whales
HALIFAX, NS, Feb. 16, 2021 /CNW/ - Global Spatial Technology Solutions ("GSTS" or "the Company") an Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Maritime Analytics company, announced today that they will use the contract awarded to GSTS under the Government of Canada's smartWhales initiative to expand the application suite offered by its Maritime Management Platform OCIANA™ to support the protection of endangered marine species. Understanding the changing movements of marine species because of climate change and other factors is critical as we develop solutions to protect the oceans and its inhabitants.
GSTS will lead a team to develop a solution that will detect North Atlantic right whales using machine learning and high-resolution satellite imagery hosted on the AI-based OCIANA™. The team includes Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, British Antarctic Survey, Dalhousie University, DeepSense, Ocean Frontier Institute. GSTS intends to incorporate the solution being developed by the team into OCIANA's AI platform to recognize right whales using satellite imagery. The proposed solution, once completed, could offer a comprehensive North Atlantic right whale detection and monitoring service and could support the Government of Canada in identifying and monitoring areas of concern and inform decision-making.
The Canadian Space Agency is leading smartWhales in collaboration with Fisheries and Oceans Canada and Transport Canada. This initiative funds research and development projects that leverage satellite data to help protect the North Atlantic right whale. It also supports Canada's Space Strategy, which seeks to ensure Canada's leadership in acquiring and using space-based data to support science excellence and economic benefits.
OCIANA™ is an AI-based platform that ingests large volumes of data from a range of satellite- and ocean-based sensors, which includes information on ocean, weather, vessel, port, and marine species activity. The data is processed using proprietary techniques developed by GSTS researchers to provide decision-making information in near real-time to save lives, energy, and the environment.
QUOTES:
"We are pleased to be working with such a distinguished team to develop a capability to support the protection of the endangered North Atlantic right whale. We intend to incorporate this capability into our Maritime AI platform OCIANA™ to help mitigate vessel interaction with the whales and improve the fidelity of our global vessel management system."
—Richard Kolacz, CEO of GSTS
"I think that working across the Canada-US border is one of the keys to protecting right whales. This collaboration will be a great foundation for cross-border science."
—Nick Record, Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences
"Counting whales in the open ocean is like finding needles in the proverbial haystack. They may be the largest beasts on the planet, but they are tiny if you have to search at an ocean scale. Developing an AI approach to automatically identify them from satellite imagery will help us to understand their numbers, movements and threats in seas that are ever more crowded and utilized by humanity."
—Peter Fretwell, UKRI British Antarctic Survey
"This is an opportunity to transform our initial vision into a potential tool that could have real-life applications for government, industry, and the larger community. With this collaboration, we hope to be able to provide information that could be used by decision makers to try to keep these whales safe, finding out as much as we can about them, and everything that we can contribute to their survival".
— Olivia Pisano, PhD Candidate, Dalhousie University
"The DeepSense team is thrilled to collaborate on the SmartWhales initiative. This initiative highlights the value of DeepSense, bringing together companies with data and ocean scientists to accelerate the development and adoption of ground-breaking artificial intelligence in the ocean sector. For this project GSTS will have access to the latest in AI and data science technologies and talent required for growth."
—Jennifer LaPlante, Executive Director, DeepSense
"This partnership is an example of what the Ocean Frontier Institute was designed to do—be a catalyst between meaningful ocean research and its real-life application in government, industry and community."
—Dr. Anya Waite, Scientific Director and CEO, Ocean Frontier Institute
Associated Links:
Data from space could help protect the endangered North Atlantic right whale
OFI-led project uses satellites to track endangered right whales in real-time
This project is undertaken with the financial support of the Government of Canada.
About GSTS
GSTS is a leader in Artificial Intelligence solutions for the maritime domain. Our solutions are designed to save lives, energy, and the environment on a global scale through the use of innovative applications based on emerging data sets and analytics. Our solutions enable enhanced decision-based operations for civil, commercial and defence and security agencies and industries. For more information, visit www.gsts.ca.
About Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences
Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences is an independent, non-profit research institute located in East Boothbay, Maine, USA. Bigelow scientists use innovative approaches to study the foundation of global ocean health and unlock its potential to improve the future for all life on our planet. The institution hosts cutting-edge facilities, including a Center for Ocean Forecasting, which will help develop the forecasts for this project.
About British Antarctic Survey
British Antarctic Survey (BAS), an institute of the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and part of UKRI, delivers and enables world-leading interdisciplinary research in the Polar Regions. Its skilled science and support staff based in Cambridge, Antarctica, and the Arctic, work together to deliver research that uses the Polar Regions to advance our understanding of Earth as a sustainable planet. Through its extensive logistic capability and know how BAS facilitates access for the British and international science community to the UK polar research operation. Numerous national and international collaborations, combined with an excellent infrastructure, help sustain a world leading position for the UK in Antarctic affairs. For more information visit our website www.bas.ac.uk or social media; TW @BAS_news, FB @BritishAntarcticSurvey, LI @british-antarctic-survey, IG @britishantarcticsurvey
About Dalhousie University
Dalhousie University is Atlantic Canada's leading research-intensive university. Located in the heart of Halifax, Nova Scotia, with an Agricultural Campus in Truro/Bible Hill, Dalhousie is a truly national and international university, with more than half of the university's 20,000-plus students coming from outside the province. Dal's 6,000 faculty and staff foster a diverse, purpose-driven community, one that spans 13 faculties and conducts more than $181 million in research annually. Part of a cluster identified as one of the world's top international centres in ocean research, the university proudly celebrated its 200th anniversary in 2018.
About DeepSense
Based at Dalhousie University, DeepSense unites the next generation of AI and machine learning experts with companies that want to harness the potential of data and lead the smarter ocean economy. With funding and support from the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA), the Province of Nova Scotia, the Centre for Ocean Ventures and Entrepreneurship (COVE), the Ocean Frontier Institute (OFI) and IBM, DeepSense drives growth in the ocean economy through artificial intelligence, machine learning, and big data applied research.
About OFI
The Ocean Frontier Institute (OFI) was established in September 2016 through a partnership led by Dalhousie University, Memorial University, and the University of Prince Edward Island. An international hub for ocean research, OFI brings together experts from both sides of the North Atlantic to be a global leader in transnational interdisciplinary ocean research, producing demonstrable and enduring social, economic, and environmental benefits.
SOURCE GLOBAL SPATIAL TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS INC. (GSTS)
Stephen Martins, GSTS, Email: [email protected], Twitter: @gsts_info
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