Innovative weather station for biodiversity sees team from University of Portsmouth scoop award at the first Innovation Awards

Wireless Wild, a group of graduates and students from the University of Portsmouth, were named Young Innovator of the Year at the first Innovation Awards, held at the Village Hotel last Thursday.

The awards, run by The News and JPIMedia, were held to celebrate the greatest innovations in and around the city, and the judges felt Wireless Wild were a shining example of young talent.

Collecting the award, which had been sponsored by Apollo Motor Group, was Samuel Gandy, Robert Ball and Kieran Wright.

Robert said: ‘We want to sole on e the biggest problems of out time – the loss of biodiversity.

‘Thank you very much for this honour.’

The judges had been impressed by Wireless Wild’s determination to tackle the destruction of biodiversity.

They heard that the United Nations has recognised that the world has a large gap in ecological data, so they don’t have enough information to judge if their conservation efforts are having the desired effects.

SEE ALSO: Engineering team from University of Portsmouth in final of national competition for their innovative weather station for biodiversity

The conventional approaches of monitoring can be slow and time consuming, relying on regular surveying by experts and volunteers.

Wireless Wild looks at this problem from an engineering perspective, allowing them to develop a creative solution using digital technology. Its product Wild lens takes advantage of HD cameras, ultrasonic microphones, and microwave motion sensors to detect animals that pass by.

All the components of Wild lens come together to produce a powerful and autonomous monitoring device. It utilises cutting-edge artificial intelligence systems to detect different species of wild animals in audio and images and video streaming - automating a task that would usually take conservationists weeks.