Huawei's AI Initiative Achieves Milestones in Dolphin Conservation Efforts

In a remarkable endeavor to protect the vulnerable Chinese white dolphin population in Xiamen Bay, Huawei, alongside its partners, recently revealed impressive preliminary outcomes of its innovative AI solution. Launched under the TECH4ALL initiative just three months ago, the program aims to utilize artificial intelligence to enhance the study and safeguarding of these endangered marine mammals.

Key Achievements

The project has already identified 13 individual dolphins from a total of 2,820 images and videos. The AI solution boasts an individual recognition accuracy of over 90% and an 85% success rate in recognizing complex behaviors. Moreover, it has significantly boosted data labeling efficiency by 400% and reduced the response time for law enforcement to potential hazards by 65%.

Cui Yangyang, Director of the TECH4ALL Program Office for Huawei, shared insight into the significance of these innovations: "The data-driven insights yielded by AI are helping conservationists formulate targeted protection measures to understand and respond to the threats facing this iconic dolphin species, ensuring their survival in the wild."

The Pressing Threats

The Chinese white dolphin, classified as vulnerable by the IUCN Red List, faces several threats in Xiamen Bay—the region home to 51% of China's dolphin population. Key issues include shipping traffic, fishing activities, and coastal development projects, all contributing to noise pollution, habitat loss, and entanglement in fishing gear that endangers these dolphins’ long-term survival.

In partnership with the Third Institute of Oceanography and China Mobile, the project has developed a feature recognition system that identifies individual dolphins based on their unique dorsal fin patterns. Wang Xianyan, the leader of the Marine Endangered Species Research and Conservation Team, emphasizes the transformative impact of AI: “Surveys are now more efficient and conservation efforts more precise, helping to reveal the nature of dolphin interactions and survival dynamics.”

Innovative AI Solutions

The solution encompasses various facets, including image preprocessing, AI-powered recognition, and cloud-based data displays. Each dolphin has its dedicated profile, enabling researchers to monitor individual status and trends over time. Having such detailed, long-term data is crucial for developing effective protection measures, providing visibility into the dolphins' population numbers, age structures, breeding behaviors, and threats they encounter.

Prior methods of manual monitoring were time-consuming and failed to yield the reliability necessary for effective conservation measures. Looking to the future, the Third Institute of Oceanography identifies the next 10 to 15 years as pivotal for the growth of the dolphin population. The Chinese white dolphin plays a crucial role in nearshore marine ecosystems, impacting the carbon cycle by feeding on fish that consume plankton, which in turn absorbs CO2.

Through this sweeping initiative, the integrity of the ocean ecosystem remains linked to addressing climate change, thereby reinforcing the critical need to protect the dolphin population.

Enhancing Surveillance with 5G Technology

Complementing this AI system is a robust 5G-A network, consisting of 10 base stations that provide seamless coverage across 330 square kilometers of the bay area. By integrating sensing and communication capabilities, the system tracks vessel movements in real time within a 20-kilometer radius. This allows for rapid AI-powered alerts concerning violations such as boundary trespassing or speeding in conservation zones. Thus far, 12 vessels have been investigated for potentially endangering the dolphins.

As researchers continue to unveil the details of the Xiamen Bay population of Chinese white dolphins, the hope for their survival grows stronger. With ongoing efforts combining tech-driven conservation strategies, the future appears promising for this iconic species.