The goal of this initiative is to track protected species in special environmental interest zones through the application of technologies that do not interfere with the fauna’s natural activity. This project proposes the technological development of a fully automated detection, identification and tracking system for the Iberian lynx based on artificial vision that can send collected data to a remote processing centre.

The project firstly covers the research and development of Iberian Lynx detection algorithms through images captured in their natural environment, for which image processing algorithms will be developed that can detect the presence of Iberian lynxes. The second part is the automation of the unique identification process of Iberian lynxes through the development of artificial image processing algorithms required for the automatic unique identification of each specimen detected.

Furthermore, a new image acquisition platform for protected species will be developed. The aim will be to optimise the design of capture units to only photograph animals of a certain Species by cropping the zone of the image where the specimen is located, thereby minimising both the amount of images stored and their size, and providing them with communication with a remote centre.

Primary innovative elements

• Differentiation between species: automation of the unique identification process for Iberian lynxes.
• New image acquisition platform for protected species.
• Deployment of a capture unit infrastructure distributed in the natural habitat.
• Communications system that respects the environment.
• Remote centre for the control and analysis of images.