{"id":1853,"date":"2023-08-30T12:48:00","date_gmt":"2023-08-30T12:48:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/?p=1853"},"modified":"2024-06-07T13:14:39","modified_gmt":"2024-06-07T13:14:39","slug":"purdue-digital-forestry-team-advances-to-10-million-xprize-rainforest-competition-finals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/2023\/Q3\/purdue-digital-forestry-team-advances-to-10-million-xprize-rainforest-competition-finals","title":{"rendered":"Purdue Digital Forestry team advances to $10 million XPRIZE Rainforest competition finals"},"content":{"rendered":"

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. —<\/p> \n

Purdue University competitors for XPRIZE Rainforest<\/a>, a global cross-disciplinary challenge of monitoring tropical biodiversity, and their Illinois Institute of Technology<\/a> teammates endured some tense moments in the semifinals, held in Singapore earlier this year.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

But after overcoming multiple challenges, including a nail-biter in the last minutes of the competition, the team recently learned it has qualified to compete in next year\u2019s $10 million XPRIZE Rainforest finals. Team Welcome to the Jungle, led by Illinois Tech\u2019s Matthew Spenko<\/a>, professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, also includes members from Natural State<\/a> and the Morton Arboretum<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Natural State developed artificial intelligence and machine learning models to automatically identify animal species from Illinois Tech\u2019s sound and video recordings. Morton Arboretum used Purdue\u2019s aerial images to identify tree species.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWorking collaboratively, our team has been able to obtain crucial insights about the health and biodiversity of the rainforest,\u201d said\u00a0Jinha Jung<\/a>, associate professor in Purdue\u2019s\u00a0Lyles School of Civil Engineering<\/a>. \u201cOur joint efforts illustrate the power of interuniversity collaboration in addressing critical environmental challenges.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Jinha
Purdue University\u2019s Jinha Jung (left), associate professor in the Lyles School of Civil Engineering, and PhD student Joshua Carpenter traveled to Singapore last spring to compete in the XPRIZE Rainforest semifinal competition. (Photo provided by Jinha Jung, Purdue University)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Jung is a member of Purdue\u2019s Institute for Digital Forestry. One of the five strategic initiatives in Purdue\u2019s Next Moves<\/a>, the institute leverages digital technology and multidisciplinary expertise to measure, monitor and manage urban and rural forests to maximize social, economic and ecological benefits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among the many teams that initially entered the five-year XPRIZE Rainforest competition, 36 teams competed in the qualifying round, with 13 advancing to the semifinals. The Illinois Tech-Purdue team was one of only two that were able to seamlessly cover the entire 60 hectares (about 150 acres) of rainforest in the semifinal test area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Purdue members of the team led the aerial surveying to measure vegetation, identify canopy trees, quantify tree species diversity and determine potential sensor deployment locations. The Purdue team consists of Jung, along with Joshua Carpenter and Hansae Kim, both PhD students in Jung\u2019s Geospatial Data Science Lab<\/a>. Kim contributed to the data analysis portion of the competition remotely from West Lafayette.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 13 semifinalist teams had 24 hours to collect as much biodiversity data as possible in a natural rainforest area in the middle of urban Singapore, and another 48 hours for analysis.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Joshua
Joshua Carpenter, PhD student in the Lyles School of Civil Engineering at Purdue University, holds appears to be a leaf from a Giant Mahang (Macaranga gigantea) tree in Singapore\u2019s urban rainforest. (Photo provided by Jinha Jung, Purdue University)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cNot everything went smoothly. There were many challenges,\u201d Jung said. Many of the challenges arose during the data-collection period. Members of the Illinois Tech robotics group had developed sensor packages that they dropped into the forest canopy with a drone. Each of the team\u2019s five sensor packages contained a sound recorder and a video device.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jung and Carpenter, meanwhile, flew their drones to take multispectral and natural color imagery of the canopy. \u201cWe had quite a bit of trouble figuring out a safe way to autonomously run our drones,\u201d Carpenter said. They ended up following a path that, because of the forest canopy, unavoidably meant periodically losing radio connection with the drone while it flew on its own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe could expect it to get close enough for a connection about once every two or three minutes,\u201d Carpenter said. During those nerve-racking minutes, they had no idea about the drone\u2019s status. \u201cIt could have crashed. We\u2019re sitting there just waiting, waiting, waiting for the radio signal to come back.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"The
The Purdue University drone flying in Singapore. The drone was the smallest and least expensive drone flown at the XPRIZE Rainforest semifinal competition last spring.\n(Photo provided by Jinha Jung, Purdue University)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Jung\u2019s group has successfully flown drones in dense forests previously. \u201cBefore we always had the freedom to go where we want to take off so that we can consistently maintain line of sight and the signal,\u201d he said. But competition rules required them to work within a specified area covered by a dense rainforest canopy that blocked the drone\u2019s signal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Locating and retrieving all five of Illinois Tech\u2019s deployed sensor packages from the forest canopy triggered another traumatic moment. Contest rules required that all deployed equipment needed to be retrieved at the end of the data-collection period to keep the rainforest pristine. But initially, the team could locate and retrieve only four of the packages. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Suddenly, with about 15 minutes left on the clock, the team figured out the likely location of the missing package. Within about 10 minutes, the team spotted the package, collected it with a drone and returned it to base camp.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWith five minutes on the clock, we were able to retrieve everything that was deployed. We were really pumped about that,\u201d Carpenter said.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Data
Purdue University\u2019s contribution to Team Welcome to the Jungle included data produced in natural color, color infrared and a digital surface model. (Image provided by Jinha Jung, Purdue University)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The format for the final contest will be similar to the semifinals, but in a more remote and challenging location. The winning team will survey the most biodiversity contained in 100 hectares (247 acres) of tropical rainforest in 24 hours and produce the most impactful real-time insights within 48 hours. The other five finalists are teams based in New Haven, Connecticut; Grand Junction, Colorado; Piracicaba, Sao Paulo, Brazil; Barcelona, Spain; and Zurich, Switzerland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have a unique set of skills that allow us to be highly impactful,\u201d Carpenter said. \u201cWe team up with people who have the scientific knowledge. When we have the chance to bring those skills to bear to help improve the world, we want to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Learn more about XPRIZE Rainforest and stay up to date on the competition at\u00a0xprize.org\/rainforest<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\n
\n

\n Writer:<\/strong>\u00a0Steve Koppes
Media contact:<\/strong>\u00a0Maureen Manier,\u00a0mmanier@purdue.edu<\/a>.
Sources:<\/strong>\u00a0Jinha Jung,\u00a0jinha@purdue.edu<\/a>; Joshua Carpenter,\u00a0jcarpene@purdue.edu<\/a>.
Agricultural Communications:<\/strong>\u00a0765-494-8415;
Maureen Manier, Department Head,\u00a0mmanier@purdue.edu<\/a>
Agriculture News Page<\/a> <\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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