Chinese researchers to use facial recognition to identify pandas for conservation

Apart from being used as surveillance, China is now using its facial recognition technology to identify pandas and protect the wild panda population.

Researchers at the China Conservation and Research Center for Giant Pandas in Chengu have started to use facial recognition software app in order to identify the similar-looking faces and markings of wild pandas.

“The app and database will help us gather more precise and well-rounded data on the population, distribution, ages, gender ratio, birth and deaths of wild pandas, who live in deep mountains and are hard to track,” researcher Chen Peng told Xinhua News.

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“It will definitely help us improve efficiency and effectiveness in conservation and management of the animals.”

The panda-identifying app pools from a huge bank of photos to help it learn and recognize one animal from another, reported Daily Mail. In total, the database contains 120,000 images and 10,000 video clips, of which 10,000 images have been marked and annotated.

The app will allow conservationists to recognize individual animals and keep track of how many pandas are left and see if their efforts to encourage breeding are paying off, reported Quartz.

Moreover, the app will be available to Chengu’s research center visitors where pandas are kept in captivity. The attendees will be able to use the app for scanning a panda and gathering out more information regarding it.

According to a 2014 census carried out by Chinese government, there are fewer than 2,000 giant pandas left in the wild. The country had previously taken steps to conserve the endangered animals, and this technology will further add to it.