News

A year in review – 2022

2022 has been a jampacked year for TAIAO. We’ve been able to host workshops and national events, propose exciting new research and bring environmental and data researchers together to share and collaborate on their work.

With Christmas just around the corner, we wanted to take this opportunity to share some of our highlights from 2022.

Artificial intelligence used to predict the impacts of future flooding events

Earlier this year, we were able to support the development of an artificial intelligence (AI) tool capable of predicting the impact of future flooding events in the Coromandel region.

By reading data of previous historic events, the AI Machine has learnt patterns of flooding impacts and can predict when it may happen again. The team hopes to have the prototype ready to roll out in 2023.

Read more here.

Wildlife Identification App Launched

More recently, our researchers have been able to create a comprehensive New Zealand-specific species classifier. Through a quick snap of a camera, the tool is able to identify any New Zealand wildlife, from plants, to animals, to mushrooms, within seconds.

The app ‘Aotearoa Species Classifier’ is available to download on the App Store and expected to be available on Google Play in early 2023.

Read more here.

Workshops and events

We’ve hosted a series of workshops this year including the TAIAO annual conference in Auckland in early September. Over the two day event, a number of data and environmental scientists were able to share their work and meet other likeminded researchers to collaborate with.

TAIAO also hosted, with the University of Waikato’s Artificial Intelligence Institute and AI Forum, New Zealand’s first ever environmentally focused AI hackathon challenge. Thirty-seven teams were able to compete by designing and coding projects that help New Zealand solve its environment issues. The winners of the challenge then went on to present their project to the AI Summit.

Read more here.

In November, TAIAO presented to a full crowd at this year’s Artificial Intelligence Researchers Association (AIRA) Annual Conference. The conference, held in Christchurch, was a great success. Students, teaching fellows and researchers were able to present their work, collaborate and discuss the lastest advances in AI technology.

Read more here.

Website updates

Another big success for the year was the development of a new look and feel for our website.

From new buttons on our homepage, to updating the layout to each of our pages, the new site is much easier to navigate, user friendly and eye-catching. But, it’s a work in progress with further updates coming in the new year.

What’s next?

We have got a lot of exciting things coming up in 2023. To stay up to date with all of our work and our upcoming events, subscribe to our newsletter.

Finally, we want to say a big thank you to all who have participated in our workshops, events and research and to our wonderful project team for your hard work.

We wish you all a very safe and happy holiday season and look forward to seeing you in 2023.