“Third Thumb” Augmentation Changes the Way we Think of Prosthetics
In a single year, 40,000 elephants and 1,200 rhinos are killed by poachers. Organizations throughout the globe have tried nearly everything possible at stopping this horrendous act of genocide, though with little results to show for. For one company, however, they’re looking to the future of anti-poaching and are needing your help in making it a reality.
Say hello to Air Shepherd – an anti-poaching industry who is planning on using [easyazon_link identifier=”B00AGOSQI8″ locale=”US” nw=”y” tag=”seriou03-20″]drones[/easyazon_link] to help ensure those elephants and rhinos have a fighting chance of staying alive.
“Poachers operate under the cover of night, and until now, rangers have not had an effective way to find them before they kill. We fly drones, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that have infrared cameras and GPS on them and can send back thermal images of animals . . . and poachers.” – Air Shepherd
Working with the University of Maryland, Air Shepherd has developed a [easyazon_link identifier=”0471048852″ locale=”US” nw=”y” tag=”seriou03-20″]supercomputer[/easyazon_link] that predicts, with 93% accuracy, where poachers will be striking next. With the drones, the company can now make pin-point locations as to where elephants and rhinos are at risk the most. For over 2 years this method has been in operation, resulting in great success – a dramatic decrease in the amount of poaching in designated areas protected by drones.
To help expand their reach, however, Air Shepherd is looking for your help with their crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo. Their funding goal is $500,000, where they’ve already accumulated over $317,000 so far with 36 hours left in their campaign.
FUTURE IMPLICATIONS
The broadening use of drones to help us combat against age-old problems, e.g. poaching, deforestation, hunger, etc., is a telling sign that the future of advanced technological might doesn’t have to result in dystopian scenarios as envisioned throughout [easyazon_link identifier=”B00OWAZ3OC” locale=”US” nw=”y” tag=”seriou03-20″]sci-fi literature[/easyazon_link]. Instead we can harness these technologies to help create a better future, not just for our own species, but for the rest of the animal kingdom as well. We have a choice to make: either we use these technologies that are available to us and use them for the betterment of our entire planet or we ignore our problems and become the very dystopian future that past naysayers warned us about.
Photo Credit: Air Shepherd / Indiegogo
About the author
B.J. Murphy is the Editor and Social Media Manager of Serious Wonder. He is a futurist, philosopher, activist, author and poet. B.J. is an Affiliate Scholar for the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies (IEET) and an Ambassador for the robotics company Humai.
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