AgriSound, a bioacoustic monitoring technology firm, is close to launching a fully automated acoustic landscape monitoring system, made possible by securing a significant industry research grant of almost £220,000 from Innovate UK.
The new system in development is set to revolutionise biodiversity monitoring, with a primary focus on scaling environmental surveillance for agriculture, businesses and policymakers alike.
The project sees AgriSound collaborating with two strategic partners: Baker Consultants, a UK ecological consultancy, and Crop Innovations, a charity driving agricultural diversification.
The project builds upon AgriSound’s existing innovative insect monitoring system, Polly, to offer an even broader range of environmental insights.
By using sophisticated audio analysis algorithms and cloud-based AI, this new product will automatically generate comprehensive biodiversity metrics across diverse landscapes, offering actionable insights into natural ecosystems.
The technology is being developed to address critical challenges, including the need for real-time ecological data amidst growing demand for biodiversity protection, particularly with new government policies such as the Environmental Land Management Schemes (ELMS).
With a shortage of qualified ecologists and fragmented ecological data, businesses are increasingly struggling to meet regulatory demands.
Casey Woodward, CEO and co-founder of AgriSound, said: “Our new acoustic monitoring system is the first solution to offer fully automated, maintenance-free landscape monitoring at scale, giving industries and landowners access to more accurate, timely, and comprehensive biodiversity data.
“This will allow for improved compliance with government policies and offer key insights to manage land sustainably.
“AgriSound’s innovative solution promises to deliver low-cost, holistic biodiversity monitoring and actionable insights for industries, developers, and farmers, as they continue to scale up their efforts to safeguard the environment while meeting stringent regulatory requirements.”
Dr Carlos Abrahams, Director of Ecoacoustics at Baker Consultants, said: “We are anticipating that the new system will greatly expand our capabilities to rapidly generate biodiversity information, and make this available in real-time across a landscape-scale array of sensors.
“This automation of data collection goes beyond, but complements, what we can achieve through manual field surveys, ensuring that ecological methods keep pace with technological advancements – and offering clients more detailed data at a lower cost.”
James Theobald, Chair of Crop Innovations, said: “Our field facilities and expertise in biological innovation make us perfectly suited to guide the deployment of this game-changing technology. We look forward to supporting AgriSound in shaping the future of environmental monitoring.”
