Machine Learning Analyzes Thousands of Plant Specimens for Comprehensive Study.

An artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm has been developed by scientists from the University of New South Wales and the Botanic Gardens of Sydney to measure the leaves of thousands of plant specimens in just a few minutes. The algorithm is capable of achieving the same work that would take a human years to complete. By using machine learning automated technology to analyse digital plant specimens, the researchers were interested in understanding the relationship between leaf size and climate. The project involved training a convolutional neural network, known as computer vision, using high-resolution images of plant specimens. Although the use of machine learning technology made the measuring process much quicker, it relies heavily on human data including Wilde’s careful work in verifying the machine learning model. The team of researchers are interested to see whether their model can extend to working with non-controlled images like photos from citizen scientists.