The U.S. Department of State is pleased to announce that Team Quantum from Colombia is the Zoohackathon 2019 global winner. The runner-up is Team Navy Pangolin from Indonesia, and Team Jhony32 from Brazil took third place.
In 2019, fifteen Zoohackathon events took place in 14 countries around the world. Over 1,000 participants came together to generate more than 135 tech solutions to bolster on-the-ground efforts to fight the scourge of wildlife trafficking. Wildlife trafficking threatens national security; undermines the rule of law; robs communities of legitimate economic livelihoods; and pushes species to the brink of extinction. Technology and innovation are key to tackling this crime.
Team Quantum created a solution that combines hardware and software to monitor the amount of timber carried by logging trucks. The system measures the weight of the wood, checks the vehicles’ locations, and sends the information to a server. If an anomaly is detected (when compared to the government-issued permit), the system alerts the relevant authorities and companies about the irregularity.
Team Navy Pangolin created a data extraction and verification tool powered by artificial intelligence that automatically processes online news articles and extracts key information about wildlife seizures for use by analysts.
Team Jhony32 created a mobile application that uses a machine learning algorithm to identify endangered species and enables public reporting of wildlife trafficking incidents. The reports include photos and GPS locations to help target law enforcement efforts.
Congratulations to the global winners.
For more information about Zoohackathon, visit www.zoohackathon.com or contact OES-PA-DG@state.gov.