Swiss AI tool helps Alaskan ecologists research bears

Swiss scientists have developed an artificial intelligence (AI) tool capable of recognising individual brown bears. It allows precise tracking of the behaviour bears, saving researchers valuable time. +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox The system was developed by the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL) and is being tested in Alaska. + AI in Switzerland: what's new in 2026? Identifying a brown bear with certainty is not as simple as it seems. A bear's size, weight, and coat change with the seasons, making visual identification tricky, even for seasoned experts. To overcome this difficulty, researchers have turned to AI. The tool is based on a facial recognition system trained to distinguish the features specific to each brown bear. + Fact and fiction about Swiss Apertus AI model Tested in a demanding natural environment, the algorithm has demonstrated high reliability, paving the way for a new way of tracking wild populations. Social ...