How AI is creating a UK super-museum and revealing our planet's history
Researchers are utilizing AI and robotics to digitize millions of natural history specimens across the UK. This project aims to make vast museum collections accessible online to help scientists study planetary history and climate change.
Why it matters
Digitization democratizes access to scientific data and accelerates research into biodiversity and environmental shifts.
Image source, Kevin Church/BBC Image caption, Beetles that look as if they are gold plated are among the millions of specimens that will be available to view online
Researchers are using AI to create a vast digital museum of millions of specimens from collections across the UK that they say could "supercharge" our understanding of the natural world.
People will eventually be able to see around 70 million animals, plants, fossils and rocks from their phones and computers.
Robots and AI are being used to scan and analyse the specimens - some collected centuries ago - speeding up the digitisation process from hundreds of years to a decade.
The new digital museum will enable researchers to understand how the UK has changed over the entire history of our planet and predict future changes to the climate, food supplies and species loss.
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