AI-driven 'CyberDog' enlisted in the battle against invasive fire ants

The “CyberDog,” an AI-powered robotic marvel, is leading a new frontier in the fight against invasive fire ants.

Scientists have unveiled this innovative technology as a game-changing method to tackle the global issue of Red Imported Fire Ants (RIFA).

By integrating artificial intelligence with advanced robotics, the CyberDog can automatically identify and manage these destructive pests, offering a more precise and eco-friendly solution compared to conventional methods.

Targeting the invisible enemy

RIFA is recognized as one of the world’s most ruinous pests. Having inadvertently barged into the United States in the 1930s, this invasive species has since colonized numerous regions, including China, Japan, and Europe, wreaking both environmental havoc and economic damage.

“RIFA proliferate rapidly in established areas, displacing local fauna and flora by outcompeting and eliminating sensitive species. Small vertebrates, such as birds and reptiles, are particularly vulnerable,” explained Eduardo Fox, a postdoctoral researcher at the State University of Goiás in Brazil and corresponding author of the study.

Conventional control methods heavily rely on the use of pesticides, which run the risk of harming native species.

“Fire ant nests are difficult for untrained personnel to identify and confirm in the field, and searching large areas can be time-consuming and exhausting under the hot sun,” Fox continued.

“A robot could automatically locate the nests without requiring specially trained individuals and operate at various times of the day regardless of temperature conditions.”

CyberDog on a mission

Life at the frontline of this battle has taken a tech twist with the arrival of a specially trained robot dog from Xiaomi.

The team integrated the CyberDog with a machine learning model trained on over 1,100 RIFA nest images, resulting in a nest detection precision rate exceeding 90%.

“This is key for diagnosing active mounds from abandoned nests and avoiding false positives with mounds inhabited by other species,” stated Hualong Qiu, a researcher at the Guangdong Academy of Forestry in China and corresponding author of the study.

The robot’s modus operandi was simple yet effective. Programmed to press onto the suspected nest with its front paw, the robotic soldier could provoke the ants into revealing their hideouts.

Disturbances would trigger an aggressive rush of worker ants from the nest, providing a clear sign of active habitation.

“A group of students received official standard training for quarantine inspectors and were tasked with locating fire ant nests in an open field. Subsequently, the AI-trained robot was challenged with the same field, and the performances of the students and the robot were compared,” Qiu explained.

CyberDog vs. human: The field test

Following rigorous official standard training for quarantine inspectors, a group of students was set to locate fire ant nests in an open field. Then it was the robot’s turn.

The showdown proved the robot dog had the upper paw when it came to locating nests, outperforming the human inspectors by identifying three times more RIFA nests.

Despite the impressive results, the researchers are aware of the challenges that lie ahead in scaling up the technology.

“The primary limitations to scaling the use of robots are their battery autonomy, which lasts about 30 minutes, and the high cost of acquiring more agile and efficient models,” noted Zheng Yan, a researcher at Lanzhou University in China and another corresponding author.

“Currently, it is still more expensive using the robot system than through the traditional approach, but we believe production costs may optimize this with time,”

Robot dogs and the future

Beyond the technical achievements, the study also has implications for public awareness. “In addition to being versatile machines for navigating urban environments, robot dogs attract a lot of public attention,” Yan further highlighted.

“Fire ants pose a serious threat in China, yet most people remain unaware of the dangers of invasive fire ant nests in public areas. Therefore, sightings of robots tracking fire ant nests are likely to captivate the public and raise awareness about the presence of fire ants.”

In essence, the integration of robots and AI in pest management could be a game-changer in combating invasive fire ants.

As the world becomes more digitized, the fusion of AI and robotics continues to redefine the limits of what’s possible – even in the world of pest control.

The full study was published in the journal Pest Management Science.

—–

Like what you read? Subscribe to our newsletter for engaging articles, exclusive content, and the latest updates. 

Check us out on EarthSnap, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

—–