Resolve's Anti-poaching TrailGuard cams got much better and thinner

The non-profit group Resolve recently developed a newer version of its TrailGuard camera. The new and improved TrailGuard AI camera will spot poachers in Africa (initially) using AI and “stop them before they can kill” said Eric Dinerstein, director of biodiversity and wildlife solutions at Resolve.

Old models from the group were bulky, unsophisticated, and sent images to rangers every time their motion sensors tripped, generating lots of false positives. The old cameras were triggered even by the wind or the shaking tree branches.

Luckily, this time, the entire camera setup is the size of a pencil – less likely to be seen by poachers. The TrailGuard AI uses motion only to wake up the camera. It simply means that there will be a significant cut down on false positives, as the camera sends alerts only when it sees humans in the frame. This would also dramatically extend the battery life of the new camera, which is about a year and a half, the company claims.

Resolve uses the same technology that powered Google’s automatic Clips camera - Intel’s Movidius Myriad 2 VPU (or vision processing unit). The technology, known to detect humans, animals, and vehicles in real-time, will make the camera more effective and also efficient than the previous models.

Resolve’s new AI camera will relatively see use quickly. However, the organization is already working with National Geographic Society and Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation to set up the hardware in 100 African reserves over the course of 2019. Southeast Asia and South America may be the next targets for Resolve aiming expansion of its anti-poaching system.