Multinational companies Intel and Accenture have reportedly joined hands with Sulubaaï Environmental Foundation to launch Project CORail, which is an AI-based solution to access, characterize and study coral reef resiliency, on the occasion of Earth Day 2020.  

Reportedly, Project CORail was established in May 2019 across the reef around Pangatalan Island in the Philippines and has gathered nearly 40,000 images that have been used by the researchers to study the reef health in real-time.

According to Rose Schooler, Corporate Vice President, Sales and Marketing Team at Intel Corporation, the novel project is a leading initiative of how AI and advanced technology may be duly used to help researchers monitor and restore the coral reef.

Apparently, the study is extremely crucial since coral reefs are one of the most vulnerable forms of life, with over 800 species of corals offering shelter and habitat for almost 25% of marine life worldwide. Coral reefs are facing threat from coral bleaching which is a direct result of increasing sea temperatures.

Notably, other factors leading to bleaching of reefs include change in nutrients or light in ocean waters. This propels the coral to expel symbiotic algae present in their tissues which releases white color that is often associated with bleaching.

Under the project CORail, Intel, Accenture, and Sulubaaï have developed a Sulu-Reef Prosthesis which is an underwater platform created by Sulubaaï Environmental Foundation to render strong support for unstable coral fragments. The prosthesis includes fragments of living coral within it that will grow and expand, offering a hybrid environment for fish and other marine creatures.

Moreover, smart underwater video cameras that are powered by the Accenture Applied Intelligence Video Analytics Service Platform (VASP) will be placed for detecting and capture images of fish as they pass. The technology developed by Accenture uses AI to count and classify the marine life with the data being sent to a dashboard where it renders analytics and trends to the researchers in real-time to help make data-driven decisions to protect the coral reef.

Accenture’s VASP solution is powered by Intel’s processors, VPU, FPGA programable cards and Distribution of OpenVINO™ toolkit.

Source Credits: https://www.unite.ai/accenture-intel-sulubaai-partner-to-launch-project-corail-to-save-coral-reefs/