Smartfinch

Where does the project come from?

Smartfinch is a project of the Chemnitz University of Technology, more specifically a doctoral project of the Chair of Media Informatics – and part of the well-known BirdNET project.

The goal: to make science understandable and convey it in an exciting way. Smartfinch builds a bridge between research, citizen science and schools.

Here you’ll find instructions for projects suitable for school classes from 1 to 12 – and equally for anyone who is curious about nature, technology and animal sounds. There is also suitable material for teachers to take along into the classroom.

What is the Smartfinch project? And what is our vision?

Smartfinch is an interdisciplinary education and research project that combines modern Artificial Intelligence (AI) with nature observation. The aim is to inspire children, young people and interested adults for the world of native birds – while at the same time teaching them important basics from biology, computer science, acoustics and environmental protection.

The project uses the technology of BirdNET, an AI system for the automatic recognition of bird calls. Using small recording devices – such as a Raspberry Pi in a birdhouse or their own smartphone – participants can record bird calls in their environment and have them identified by the AI. This creates an exciting approach to questions such as:

• Which bird species live in my environment?

• How does their song change over the course of the year?

• What role do sounds, environmental conditions and habitats play?

In addition to research, learning and participation are at the heart of Smartfinch: The platform offers child-friendly content, experiments and tutorials on topics such as:

• Biology & environment: birds as bioindicators, protecting habitats

• Acoustics: how sound works and what a spectrogram shows

• Computer science & AI: how neural networks recognise bird calls

• Technology: how to build your own recording stations with simple means

Through this combination of nature, technology and creativity, young people not only learn how AI works, but also how they can use it to help protect the environment.

What is BirdNET?

BirdNET is a joint research project between Chemnitz University of Technology and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology in the USA. The goal: to automatically recognise bird songs with the help of Artificial Intelligence – using a microphone and software, without any special prior knowledge. Whether in the garden, in the forest or in the school playground: the technology makes it possible to identify bird species solely on the basis of their song.

The AI behind BirdNET is not only used in research and in many environmental projects, but is also accessible to everyone in the BirdNET app and the BirdNET-Pi project.

This is what matters to us: Open access for all. That’s why we rely on open source, so that as many people as possible can join in, learn and conduct research. BirdNET combines technology, nature conservation and education – and brings the world of birds directly to you.