How good is Terra Station's bird identification?
You may find that your Terra Station does not identify a bird you hear, or misidentifies it. This is part of the initial development of the Terra Project, and something that we anticipate, and expect to change rapidly. To give you more insight on what's happening, you need to know a little about the unique way the Terra ID process works:
- We have set up the Terra ID engine to use multiple algorithms instead of just one. Our servers have several different ways to look at a sound, and each of those ways has advantages. We are in the process of making those different engines cooperate, and eventually this will be a significant advantage over other ID apps and processes.
- Unlike all other algorithms in current use, the Terra ID algorithms are continuously dynamic. Because we have the advantage of a massive amount of data being collected in the field continuously, we can use AI to categorize and use that data to make our engines work more and more effectively. In other words, the Terra ID process learns all the time. The upside of this is that Terra engine is both adaptable and precise. The downside is that it takes time for it to learn, so initially the IDs are not always great. Over time and with more Terras going into the field, that should improve quickly.
- The Terra algorithms are being tailored to the Terra Station microphones. As we gather data in the field, we will be sharpening the algorithm specific to Terra devices, and accommodating the way Terra Stations "hear" sounds.
- We are doing some pretty cool stuff with AI to help Terra learn new sounds that it's never been heard before. More on that to come...
- We are in the process of building a user feedback system so not only will Terra be able to learn from what it hears, but also from what you tell it! Users will be able to confirm good sound IDs and point out erroneous IDs, and all that will be fed back into the system.
- Terra is not designed to just ID birds - any wildlife that makes a sounds is fair game including insects, frogs, mammals and more! All these animals will be part of the learning process for Terra, so you'll be seeing these IDs get better on a weekly basis.
So the long and short of it is that the Terra algorithm is not the best at the start, but it is going to improve quickly, especially as more and more Terra Stations go into the field. We believe it will eventually surpass every other ID system into the future.
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