Project

​​Technological Innovations for Ecosystem Monitoring (TIEM)​ 

The health of our planet’s ecosystems is critical for biodiversity, food security, and human well-being. However, monitoring these ecosystems and understanding how they respond to threats like pollution or climate change is challenging. This project aims to create advanced sensing boxes that can monitor biodiversity and detect chemical contaminants in aquatic and terrestrial environments. These boxes will use cutting-edge technology, such as artificial intelligence (AI), chemical sensors, and environmental DNA (eDNA), to provide continuous, automated data. The ultimate goal is to provide tools that help scientists and decision-makers better protect ecosystems and address environmental challenges.

The project focuses on developing smart, user-friendly sensing boxes for monitoring biodiversity and contaminants in marine, freshwater, and terrestrial ecosystems. These sensing boxes will combine technologies like AI for species recognition, chemical sensors for detecting pollutants, and DNA sampling to identify a wide range of organisms. The data collected will help understand how ecosystems respond to changes and inform strategies to protect the environment.

Specific objectives

  1. Develop sensing tools tailored for different environments (marine, freshwater, terrestrial).
  2. Integrate AI technologies for identifying species and analyzing patterns in biodiversity.
  3. Advance chemical monitoring techniques to detect pollutants and their effects.
  4. Refine eDNA methods for identifying organisms in water, soil, and air.
  5. Engage end-users to ensure the sensing boxes address real-world needs and are easy to use.

Planned Activities

  • Organizing workshops to gather input from scientists and end-users about monitoring needs.
  • Developing and testing AI systems for identifying species from images, sounds, and video.
  • Creating new chemical sensors to detect pollutants in real-time.
  • Improving eDNA techniques to monitor ecosystems more comprehensively.
  • Designing user-friendly interfaces and automated data processing systems for seamless use.

Aimed Results

  • Prototype sensing boxes that can operate in real-world environments.
  • Data outputs that are easy to interpret and integrate into decision-making.
  • An outlook into how such a sensing box should ideally function, and an overview of which funding routes would be of interest to bring the efforts started in this project further.

Aimed Impact

  • Better tools for protecting ecosystems and managing natural resources.
  • Improved understanding of how pollution and other threats impact biodiversity.
  • Support for global sustainability goals, such as protecting endangered species, improving food safety, and ensuring clean water.

Publications