RIO DE JANEIRO — In Brazil, where about 16 wild animals become roadkill every second, a computer scientist has come up with a futuristic solution to this everyday problem: Using artificial intelligence to alert drivers to their presence.A crab crosses the Roberto Burle Marx road in west Rio de Janeiro on April 17, 2024. In Brazil, where about 16 wild animals become roadkill every second, a computer scientist has come up with a futuristic solution: Using AI to warn drivers of their presence.
According to the Brazilian Center for Road Ecology , some 475 million vertebrate animals die on the road every year — mostly smaller species such as capybaras, armadillos and possums.AFP Mr Souto, who is pursuing a master's degree at the University of Sao Paulo , then created a database with thousands of images of these animals, and trained an AI model to recognise them in real-time.
Signage warning drivers to be on the lookout for crossing animals have little influence, he told AFP, leading to a mere three-percent reduction in speed on average.