A new partnership between astrophysicists and ecologists at Liverpool John Moores University is attempting to curb animal poaching by combining drone tech used by conservationists and thermal imaging tech and software used by astronomers.

According to New Atlas, this newly developed system uses machine learning and detection tools used in astronomy and was built on the open-source Astropy Project. As a result of this combination of seemingly unrelated technologies, the research team’s new system can detect and identify various types of animals in disparate landscapes and environments, which will allow its users to more efficiently monitor wildlife at night, when the majority of poaching takes place.

“With thermal infrared cameras, we can easily see animals as a result of their body heat, day or night, and even when they are camouflaged in their natural environment,” said team member Dr. Claire Burke. “Since animals and humans in thermal footage ‘glow’ in the same way as stars and galaxies in space, we have been able to combine the technical expertise of astronomers with the conservation knowledge of ecologists to develop a system to find the animals or poachers automatically.”

New Atlas reports that the first pilot project occurred in 2017 in northwest England, and specifically tested aerial infrared footage in regards to humans and cows. Subsequently, the team joined both the Knowsley Safari organization and the Chester Zoo to collect the unique thermal profiles of a wide array of other animals, like baboons and rhinoceroses. This allowed the LJMU group to consolidate a respectable data-set of heat signatures and bring them to a stage where they could actively test their system in the field. Take a look at the team in action with Knowsley Safari last year.