Explore the World Around You Using Machine Learning

There are two Android apps that I have become very fond of when I’m outside, e.g. spending time in the garden or taking a walk. Both are tools that allow you to learn more about the nature around you, and they use machine learning for doing so.

BirdNET Audio Recording Screen

Let me start with BirdNET, an application that uses your mobile device’s microphone and GPS sensor to determine what birds are currently singing around you. If you have ever wondered what is chirping on that tree, simply take a recording, upload it to the BirdNET AI and it will tell you!

Sadly, the mobile app does not support uploading pre-recorded audio files, but they have a service on their web site that supports that. The App also keeps a log of your previous findings and provides links to Wikipedia, Cornell’s Maculay Library and their All About Birds site for every bird it recognized. They also have a Twitter account at @BirdNET_App.

Flora Incognita Start Screen

The second app I would like to mention is Flora Incognita. It allows you take pictures of unknown flowers and other plants to help you with determining their name and a lot of additional background information.

In many cases, taking a single picture of the flower is sufficient, sometimes the app asks you to take additional pictures of the leaves or the entire plant in order to find a match. It also keeps a record of every plant it discovered for you. They have an iOS app as well. They can be found on Twitter at @flora_incognita.


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