Australia’s Team Pineapple Roots For AI To Clean Up Oceans At FIRST Global Challenge 2019 In Dubai
After a 14-hour flight from a continent surrounded by seas and oceans Team Australia arrived at the FIRST Global Challenge 2019 in Dubai ready to bring a winning solution to an issue that affects them more than perhaps any other nation here.
Being a proud maritime nation, the ocean is as close to the hearts of Team Australia as their families. And given the event’s theme this year – Ocean Opportunities – the Aussies’ participation in the FIRST Global Challenge 2019 in Dubai goes well beyond the cause of the competition.
In Australian slang, ‘to be on the rough end of the pineapple’ means that things have got really bad. Australia’s team supervisor Ryan Marple laughs that Team Australia chose the moniker ‘Pineapple’ because that’s exactly how far south things have gone when it comes to ocean pollution. He adds that we need enthusiastic and empowered youngsters to help address the threats to marine life and leverage their mastery of technology to protect the environment.
Marple says that Australian universities are busy implementing national and international initiatives that use robots to monitor ocean conditions and generate a comprehensive database. AI applications then analyze this data to propose optimal ways to deal with the waste that pollutes the oceans, especially waste that needs hundreds of years to decompose, such as plastics. These efforts go a long way in reducing human risk and error.
He and his team of ninth- and tenth-graders are participating in the tournament for the third time, and they believe that AI applications are the future.
Marple thinks that the best thing about the Challenge is that it links people from across the globe in working towards one common goal – saving the planet using technology. He also notes that compared to the previous two editions in the United States and Mexico, the Dubai event sets itself apart through promoting a culture of competitive collaboration and offers assistance to those who need it, which ultimately helps everyone achieve the best results for the greater good of the human race.
Team Pineapple realizes the importance of educating people about the positive role of AI in the future, as well as of proper governance that regulates AI applications with the aim of developing smart systems that can inform decision-making.
Australia is home to the Great Barrier Reef, the world’s largest coral reef that spans 2,300 kilometers across an area of approximately 344,000 square kilometers. The reef is exposed to multiple hazards, including plastic pollution and global warming, which causes rapid coral bleaching that threatens marine life in the region.
Today, Australian universities constitute a global repository of scientific and environmental research that proposes new and efficient solutions to the problems facing the world’s oceans and seas using artificial intelligence.
Organized by the Dubai Future Foundation, the FIRST Global Challenge 2019 in Dubai has drawn the participation of more than 1,500 students aged 14-18 from 191 countries. From October 24 to 27, 2019, the teams are competing in leveraging robotics and artificial intelligence applications to save the oceans and protect the marine environment.
