The goal of this challenge is to help wildlife researchers accurately identify endangered Cook Inlet beluga whale individuals from photographic images. Specifically, the task is query ranking for images of individual whales given a query image against an image database, which is a key step in the full photo-identification process. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is looking for an automated solution to integrate into the existing Flukebook platform. Prizes will be awarded based on the accuracy of model matches, with a bonus prize for intermediary explainability outputs as described below. Accelerated and scalable photo-identification of individuals is critical to effective population assessment, management, and protection for the Cook Inlet belugas. Machine learning has the potential to expedite the creation and analysis of large datasets of endangered beluga whale images.
Partner organization: Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
Award: $35,000 in total prizes
Open Date: April 28, 2022
Close Date: June 30, 2022
For more information, visit: https://www.drivendata.org/competitions/96/beluga-whales/