A Perth-based startup, Tyton Ecological Intelligence (EI), is set to launch a groundbreaking AI software suite that promises to transform environmental monitoring and management for mining companies worldwide.
The company, which emerged from a traditional environmental consultancy, has spent seven years developing and refining its innovative technology.
At the heart of Tyton EI’s offering is the Tyton AI software, a sophisticated machine-learning classification tool specifically designed for ecological monitoring.
This software will soon be available as a Software as a Service (SaaS) product, complementing the company’s existing Tyton EIS analytics platform.
The Tyton AI software leverages a powerful “mega-model” built on data collected from vast land areas in Western Australia and other parts of the world.
Using vision transformers and advanced machine learning techniques, the software analyses aerial imagery to identify individual plants, vegetation lifeforms, and species across thousands of hectares.
Dr Cam Mounsey, Founder and CEO of Tyton EI, emphasised the transformative potential of their technology: “We’re enabling environmental managers to harness the power of machine learning by making it easy. They can now monitor entire study areas at individual plant scale with a high degree of accuracy, without needing a degree in machine learning.”
The software’s “mega-model” is trained on billions of pixels captured from extensive land areas, allowing clients to fine-tune the model for their specific environmental monitoring and rehabilitation needs.
Even in new environments, the AI can achieve up to 90 per cent identification accuracy by adapting to fresh data.
This technology represents a significant improvement over traditional on-ground monitoring methods and surpasses alternative spatial analysis techniques that often require hundreds of hours of manual work.
Alex Dunmow, Tyton EI’s CTO, who has led the software development over the past year, highlighted the uniqueness of their product: “It’s novel, there’s nothing like it on the market. We’re applying advanced AI to help solve real environmental challenges.”
The Tyton AI software is already being used by major mining companies, including BHP and Newcrest Mining, to manage and monitor vast tracts of land in Western Australia’s Pilbara and Murchison regions.
As environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues become increasingly important for mining companies, Tyton EI’s technology offers a timely solution for more accurate and comprehensive environmental monitoring and reporting.
The global launch of Tyton EI’s new software is anticipated in the coming months, positioning Perth at the forefront of both AI development and environmental technology.
