Member Article

Protecting turtles with AI: Purple Transform joins forces with the Olive Ridley Project to save sea turtles in the Maldives

Advanced SiYtE platform will enhance monitoring and protection, tracking sea turtle activity and alerting for turtle injuries

Purple Transform, an innovative developer of AI to improve human outcomes, today announced its partnership with the Olive Ridley Project (ORP) to support sea turtle conservation in the Maldives. Through Project SEUSS (Safeguarding Ecosystems Using Sustainable Solutions), Purple Transform's innovative SiYtE platform will be utilised to monitor and aid in the conservation of sea turtles in unprecedented ways.

Five of the seven species of sea turtles worldwide are found in the Maldives, and all five are at risk of extinction. ORP is a charity founded to protect sea turtles and their habitats through rescue and rehabilitation, scientific research, and education and outreach.

Project SEUSS utilises Purple Transform’s proprietary AI platform, SiYtE, which extracts and aggregates real-time data from various sources like CCTV cameras and IoT sensors. It then employs AI and machine learning techniques to analyse and visualise this data in real-time, providing valuable insights.

SiYtE, which is already being used to safeguard UK railways by monitoring and alerting staff to risks, also possesses the capability to detect hatchings and nesting activity. Purple Transform’s collaboration with ORP aims to provide the organisation with reliable hatchling counts and identification of nesting females, helping to accurately evaluate the size and productivity of nesting populations. Additionally, the technology will also strengthen ORP’s sea turtle veterinary programme, by aiding analysis of blood samples and monitoring of sea turtle behaviour in rehabilitation.

From tracking nesting patterns to monitoring sea turtle populations and even detecting potential human interference, SiYtE equips ORP with the essential tools to gather vital information, safeguard sea turtles, and intervene when necessary.

"At Purple Transform, our core focus is to create better human outcomes. To achieve this objective, we must leverage our tools, expertise, and passion to protect our planet – and this incredible species," said Gregory Butler, CEO, Purple Transform.  “SiYtE can easily be adapted - from protecting passengers and workers to safeguarding turtles, nesting sites, and monitoring their environment for threats. Our partnership with ORP to safeguard sea turtles in the Maldives reflects our complete commitment to AI for good.”

"Purple Transform leads the way with an innovative approach, harnessing AI to revolutionise standard camera devices into state-of-the-art monitoring systems. These systems are adept at identifying sea turtles, detecting subtle behavioural changes in sea turtle patients and can even pinpoint their specific cell types,” said Olive Ridley Project’s founder and CEO, Dr Martin Stelfox. “This advancement significantly enhances our capability to deliver prompt care and protection for sea turtles. Our aspiration is that through the development of this technology, we establish improved monitoring systems and expedite the treatment and release of more sea turtles back into the wild."

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by P Adams .