L-CAS researchers contribute to study exploring how robotic systems could revolutionise wildlife conservation efforts

The Lincoln Centre for Autonomous Systems (L-CAS) is proud to announce that our researchers have contributed to new research published in Nature Ecology & Evolution. The study, “Opportunities and challenges for monitoring terrestrial biodiversity in the robotics age“, represents a significant milestone in our mission to advance autonomous systems for real-world applications.

A Global Collaboration for Conservation

This comprehensive research brought together biodiversity experts and robotics and autonomous systems (RAS) specialists from around the world, including our own Dr Petra Bosilj and Prof Marc Hanheide. The international team systematically examined how robotics could transform the way we monitor and protect Earth’s threatened species.

Addressing Critical Conservation Challenges

With up to two million species at risk of extinction, the study tackled a pressing question: how can we scale up biodiversity monitoring to match the urgency of the conservation crisis? Traditional monitoring methods are time-consuming, expensive, and often limited by accessibility and human capacity. The research identified four key barriers that currently hinder comprehensive biodiversity monitoring:

• Site access challenges in remote or dangerous locations
• Species detection difficulties, particularly for cryptic or elusive animals
• Data handling and storage limitations with vast datasets
• Power and network availability in field conditions

Robotics as a Conservation Game-Changer

The study revealed exciting opportunities for robotic and autonomous systems to complement existing conservation methods. From UAVs surveying vast landscapes to soft-bodied robots monitoring soil invertebrates, the research highlighted how diverse robotic platforms could revolutionise our understanding of ecosystem health.

Key findings include the potential for autonomous systems to:

• Conduct synchronous surveys across multiple sites
• Monitor species in previously inaccessible habitats
• Provide real-time species identification using AI
• Enable long-term, continuous monitoring programmes
• Reduce human disturbance to sensitive wildlife

L-CAS Expertise Driving Innovation

The involvement of Dr Bosilj and Prof Hanheide in this study reflects L-CAS’s growing impact beyond traditional robotics applications. Dr Bosilj, a Senior Lecturer specialising in computer vision and mathematical morphology, brings essential expertise in image processing and automated recognition systems. Meanwhile, Prof Hanheide’s leadership in autonomous systems and long-term autonomy provides crucial insights into deploying robots in complex, uncontrolled environments.

Charting the Future

Whilst the study acknowledges significant technological hurdles—particularly in sensor development, AI training data, and power management—it paints an optimistic picture of a future where robots work alongside human conservationists to protect biodiversity. The researchers emphasise that successful implementation will require unprecedented collaboration between robotics engineers and conservation biologists.

As Prof Hanheide noted in previous discussions about autonomous systems, the key lies not in replacing human expertise but in augmenting our capabilities to address challenges at the scale and speed that conservation demands.

A Call for Transdisciplinary Innovation

This publication in Nature Ecology & Evolution underscores the importance of transdisciplinary research in addressing global challenges. At L-CAS, we remain committed to fostering such collaborations, bringing together engineers, computer scientists, and domain experts to develop technologies that serve society’s most pressing needs.

The study concludes that even if robotic systems could monitor just 10% of species reliably across all taxonomic groups, it would represent a substantial improvement over current approaches—a modest goal with transformative potential for conservation science.