earthtoolsmaker

Early Forest Fire Detection

Fri, 12 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Democratize open and low-tech solutions for fighting wildfires, for the benefit of the ecosystems and the citizens.

Wild Salmon Migration Monitoring

Tue, 20 Aug 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The project monitors wild salmon migration to ensure the number passing through meets state regulations, addressing threats from human activities like fisheries and dams.

Forest Elephants Passive Acoustic Monitoring

Wed, 26 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Conservation efforts struggle to monitor forest elephants in dense rainforests, with acoustic monitoring providing a promising solution via accurate, user-friendly detection systems that aid in population monitoring and anti-poaching efforts while mitigating human-elephant conflicts.

Pyronear

Thu, 01 May 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Democratizing open and low-tech solutions for fighting wildfires. An early detection solution that is open source, efficient, automatic, energy-efficient, economical and modular.

SalmonVision

Tue, 01 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Underwater cameras, sonar and drones combined with innovative AI technology to enable precise and automated salmon counting in rivers.

Biowatch

Thu, 01 May 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Open-source desktop app for analyzing camera trap data. Runs 100% locally — your sensitive wildlife data never leaves your computer.

Animal reID

Mon, 24 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

A modular computer vision framework for individual animal identification using state-of-the-art techniques including metric learning, local feature matching, and spot pattern analysis across multiple species.

Racing Models, Not Opinions: How We Ran Wildfire ML R&D for Pyronear

Fri, 12 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

In 2024, we wrote about building an early forest fire detector with the NGO Pyronear: cameras on antenna towers, a YOLO object detector (a fast model that draws boxes around what it finds in a single image) running on a Raspberry Pi, and real fires detected from 35 kilometers away. This post is the next chapter — and it is less about a model than about a method.

Over the past months we helped Pyronear answer one question: can a model that watches smoke evolve over time cut false alarms without missing fires? The answer turned out to be yes — the winning model raises 4× fewer false alarms than the production baseline while catching slightly more fires. But the part worth writing about is how we got there: a literature survey distilled into a shortlist, a standardized experiment harness, and a leaderboard where five candidate models — including the current production system — raced on the same frozen test set.

Smoke Is a Behavior: Inside Pyronear's Temporal Wildfire Detection Model

Fri, 12 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

In the previous post we told the story of how the new smoke verifier for Pyronear was selected: a literature survey, five candidate models, one leaderboard, one winner with 4× fewer false alarms. This post opens up the winner itself — the bbox-tube temporal model (bbox for the bounding boxes a detector draws around candidate smoke, tube for the way those boxes are linked across frames) now released as a versioned package — and walks through how it judges a sequence of camera frames, stage by stage, with figures computed from real wildfire sequences.

Temporal Smoke Verification

Fri, 12 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Watching camera sequences over time to tell genuine wildfire smoke from look-alikes.

Monitoring Smolt Salmon Migration with Sonar

Sat, 10 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

An innovative use of sonar imagery to monitor and analyze the migration patterns of smolt salmon as they journey from freshwater to the ocean

Smolt Sonar Monitoring

Sat, 10 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Detecting, tracking and counting juvenile salmon in ARIS sonar as they migrate downstream.

Snow Leopard Identification

Tue, 25 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Identifying individual snow leopards by their coat patterns to support conservation across Central Asia.

Wadden Sea Seal Monitoring

Mon, 24 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Automated seal population monitoring system using AI to count, classify, and identify individual seals from aerial imagery in the Wadden Sea.

Volunteering at Wildlife Rescue Centers

Tue, 20 May 2025 00:00:00 +0000

In this blog, we will share our experiences volunteering at various wildlife rescue centers.

Introduction

A wildlife rescue center primarily focuses on the rehabilitation of injured, sick, or orphaned animals. The goal is to treat these animals and eventually release them back into their natural habitats.

Rescue centers typically provide medical care, rehabilitation, and temporary housing for animals. They often engage in rescue operations and collaborate closely with local authorities to respond to wildlife emergencies.

Biowatch: Camera Trap Data, Visualized

Thu, 20 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000

A free, open-source desktop application for visualizing camera trap data to support conservation efforts.

Snow Leopard Monitoring

Tue, 04 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Non-invasive snow leopard monitoring using computer vision analysis of camera trap photos to identify individual animals.

Seal Identification

Fri, 24 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Re-identifying individual seals by their whisker and face patterns — non-invasive, across seasons.

Identify individuals with Local Feature Matching

Mon, 09 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

In this blog post, we will explore a powerful technique widely used for identifying individuals across various species. This method leverages unique physical markings that remain relatively stable throughout an organism’s lifetime, making it effective for species with distinct patterns. For instance, whale sharks, trout, turtles, and seals all possess unique spot or scale patterns that lend themselves well to this computer vision approach.

How to prepare data for IDentification?

Sun, 08 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

In this blog post, we will explore essential preprocessing techniques for normalizing animal images, preparing them for individual identification.

We will focus on the initial stages of the machine learning pipelines developed for various projects, specifically bear and trout identification. In both cases, similar computer vision techniques and strategies were employed to successfully create robust identification systems.

Gallery / Overview of the ML pipeline to identify bears using their facial markings with Metric Learning

Trout Identification

Sun, 08 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Reading the spot patterns on trout to identify individual fish — a non-invasive way to monitor populations.

Trout Identification

Sun, 08 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Non-invasive technology for monitoring trout populations using computer vision to accurately identify individual fish.

Tracking the Journey: How to Monitor Wild Salmon Migrations

Fri, 30 Aug 2024 00:00:00 +0000

In this blog post, we will dive into the successful development of a wild salmon monitoring system, currently deployed to 8 different sites in British Columbia.

We must take every step in our control now as climate-change related trends will make things more difficult for salmon populations in the years ahead. This demands urgency for Pacific salmon and for the 130+ species, including grizzlies, orcas and eagles, that depend on Pacific salmon.

Protecting the Forest: Building an early forest fire detector

Wed, 21 Aug 2024 00:00:00 +0000

In this blog post, we’ll delve into the development process of a cutting-edge early forest fire detection system, created in collaboration with the NGO Pyronear.

Our detectors communicate fire alerts to a database that is connected to a supervision platform for the fire department.

– Pyronear

Pyronear offers a holistic solution for managing fire risks. Central to its capabilities is an innovative early wildfire detection algorithm, seamlessly operated on a compact microcomputer. This core system is augmented by a network of high-resolution cameras strategically positioned at elevated vantage points, providing panoramic coverage of forested regions. Together, these components form a resilient and proactive strategy for wildfire prevention and management.

Wild Salmon Migration Monitoring

Tue, 20 Aug 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Classifying and counting wild salmon from underwater camera streams as they migrate back to spawn.

How to detect elephant rumbles at scale

Sat, 29 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This blog post will detail the development process of an elephant rumble audio analyzer, created in partnership with The Elephant Listening Project.

Our vision is to conserve the tropical forests of Africa through acoustic monitoring, sound science, and education, focusing on forest elephants

– The Elephant Listening Project

For a comprehensive understanding of this project, one can read more on the detailed project page on passive acoustic monitoring for forest elephants.

Forest Elephant Rumbles Detection

Wed, 26 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Listening to African forests to detect and classify elephant rumbles from audio recordings.

Bird Flu Monitoring

Sun, 23 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Utilize drones for precise monitoring of breeding seabird colonies by detection of live and dead adults and chicks to determine survival and reproduction and asses the impact of avian influenza.

Early Forest Fire Detection

Tue, 23 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Real-time camera analysis that spots wildfires early and raises the alarm fast.

Tropical Bat Call Detection and Classification

Tue, 23 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Transforming bat population monitoring in Cambodia through advanced bio-acoustic analysis driven by Machine Learning algorithms.

A guide to designing a bear face recognition system

Fri, 12 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0000

In this blog post we’ll delve into the technical development of a bear face recognition system which is a critical component of the bear identification system developed in close collaboration with the BearID Project NGO.

Our research and software tool will provide a replicable technique and general approach that can be applied to other species beyond bears, which could aid conservation efforts worldwide.

– BearID Project

For a comprehensive understanding of this project, please click on the pipeline overview below:

A guide to designing a bear face segmentation system

Thu, 11 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0000

In this blog post we’ll delve into the technical development of a bear face segmentation system which is a critical component of the bear identification system developed in close collaboration with the BearID Project NGO.

Our research and software tool will provide a replicable technique and general approach that can be applied to other species beyond bears, which could aid conservation efforts worldwide.

– BearID Project

For a comprehensive understanding of this project, please click on the pipeline overview below:

How to build a benthic coral reefs analyser

Wed, 10 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Welcome to our blog post where we’ll explore the development process of a benthic coral reef analyzer, created in partnership with ReefSupport. Our goal is simple: to improve the tools available for monitoring coral reefs and marine environments. Let’s dive into how we’re making this happen!

For a comprehensive understanding of this project, please click on the image below:

Leveraging computer vision for the segmentation of coral reefs in benthic imagery holds the potential to quantify the long-term growth or decline of coral cover within marine protected areas

How to build a real time bear detection system

Tue, 09 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0000

In this blog post, we’ll delve into the successful development of a real-time bear detection system, achieved through collaboration with the NGO HackThePlanet. Our initiative aims to safeguard Romanian farms by deterring bear encroachments.

Implementing non-invasive methods to deter bears from approaching farms and livestock holds promise in fostering harmonious relations between humans and bears.

For a comprehensive understanding of this project, please click on the pipeline overview below:

Project Scope

The computer vision model responsible for detecting bears will operate on a low-power microcontroller (such as the Raspberry Pi5). This necessitates swift operation and minimal power consumption during inference. Ensuring timely detection of approaching bears is critical, as their entry onto farms can result in predation on livestock, such as pigs. Achieving an extremely high recall rate is imperative to prevent such incidents. Additionally, since brown bear activities can occur day or night, the system must remain operational around the clock.

Bear Detector for Human Wildlife conflicts

Wed, 03 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Detecting and deterring bears near Romanian farms so people and predators can coexist.

Bear Identification

Wed, 03 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Facial recognition that tells individual bears apart from photos — tracking British Columbia’s black bear population over time.

Bear Identification

Wed, 03 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Noninvasive technologies to identify and monitor bears, facilitating their conservation.

Bear Deterrence in the Carpathians

Tue, 02 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Utilizing low-power technology to detect and deter bears from encroaching on Romanian farms.

Coral Reef Health Monitoring

Tue, 30 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Detecting and identifying coral species in benthic imagery to track reef health over time.

Coral Reefs Health Monitoring

Tue, 30 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Segmentation of coral reefs in benthic imagery to quantify the long-term growth or decline of coral cover within marine protected areas.

About

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Conservation teams collect more data than they can ever look at: years of audio, millions of camera-trap photos, endless hours of underwater video. The bottleneck isn’t passion or knowledge — it’s tooling. We’re a small team of engineers and ecologists who close that gap, building machine learning tools side by side with the researchers and rangers who use them.

Free to use. Free to modify. Open source, end to end.

Contact

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

We’re thrilled that you’re interested in reaching out to us. Whether you have a question, a suggestion, or just want to say hello, we’re here to listen and respond.

Please feel free to fill out the contact form below, and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.

Elements

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

A paragraph looks like this — Globally incubate standards compliant channels before scalable benefits. Quickly disseminate superior deliverables whereas web-enabled applications. Quickly drive clicks-and-mortar catalysts for change before vertical architectures. Credibly reintermediate backend ideas for cross-platform models. Continually reintermediate integrated processes through technically sound intellectual capital. Holistically foster superior methodologies.

Headings by default:

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Lists

Ordered list example:

Poutine drinking vinegar bitters.
Coloring book distillery fanny pack.
Venmo biodiesel gentrify enamel pin meditation.
Jean shorts shaman listicle pickled portland.
Salvia mumblecore brunch iPhone migas.

Unordered list example:

Bitters semiotics vice thundercats synth.
Literally cred narwhal bitters wayfarers.
Kale chips chartreuse paleo tbh street art marfa.
Mlkshk polaroid sriracha brooklyn.
Pug you probably haven’t heard of them air plant man bun.

Table

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Quotes

A quote looks like this:

The longer I live, the more I realize that I am never wrong about anything, and that all the pains I have so humbly taken to verify my notions have only wasted my time!

Partners

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Every tool we build is a collaboration. We work alongside conservation organizations, research institutions, technology partners, and funders who share a commitment to protecting wild places — pairing their field expertise with our engineering to turn overwhelming data into usable insight.

Privacy Policy

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Last updated: June 12, 2026

EarthToolsMaker is a static website. We do not collect or store personal data ourselves: there are no analytics, no tracking cookies, and no ads. The few places where data is involved at all are described below.

Hosting

This website is served by Netlify. Like any web host, Netlify processes the IP address of your device in standard server logs in order to deliver the site. See Netlify’s privacy policy for details.

Support Our Work

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

We’re a small team of engineers and ecologists building open-source AI for conservation. Every tool on this site started the same way: a field problem, a scoped plan — and a partner who decided it should exist. Sponsorships and partnerships are what turn the next idea into a deployed tool. Here’s how you can help.