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They look, move, and even smell like the kind of furry Everglades marsh rabbit a Burmese python would love to eat. But these bunnies are robots meant to lure the giant invasive snakes out of their hiding spots.It’s the latest effort by the South Florida Water Management District to eliminate as many pythons as possible from the Everglades, where they are decimating native species with their voracious appetites. In Everglades National Park, officials say the snakes have eliminated 95% of small mammals as well as thousands of birds.“Removing them is fairly simple. It’s detection. We’re having a really hard time finding them,” said Mike Kirkland, lead invasive animal biologist for the water district. “They’re so well camouflaged in the field.”The water district and University of Florida researchers deployed 120 robot rabbits this summer as an experiment. Previously, there was an effort to use live rabbits as snake lures but that became too expensive and time-consuming, Kirkland said.The robots are simple toy rabbits, but retrofitted to emit heat, a smell, and to make natural movements to appear like any other regular rabbit. “They look like a real rabbit,” Kirkland said. They are solar powered and can be switched on and off remotely. They are placed in small pens monitored by a video camera that sends out a signal when a python is nearby.“Then I can deploy one of our many contractors to go out and remove the python,” Kirkland said.The total cost per robot rabbit is about $4,000, financed by the water district, he added.Pythons are not native to Florida, but have become established in the swampy, subtropical Everglades by escaping from homes or by people releasing them when they become overgrown pets. A female python can lay between 50 and 100 eggs at a time with a gestation period of 60 to 90 days, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.It’s not easy to find definite estimates of the number of pythons in Florida. The U.S. Geological Survey recently reported a ballpark number of “tens of thousands,” while other official estimates run as high as 300,000 snakes. They have few natural enemies, although there are occasional confrontations with alligators, and other predators, such as bobcats and coyotes, will eat their eggs.Since 2000, more than 23,000 of the snakes have been removed from the wild, the wildlife commission says. The robot rabbits are the latest attempt to tackle snakes that average between 10 and 16 feet (3 to 5 meters) in length when fully grown.“Every invasive python that is removed makes a difference for Florida’s environment and its native wildlife,” said Ron Bergeron, a member of the water district governing board.Pythons can be humanely killed year-round on private lands and on lands managed by the wildlife commission across the state.Each year the commission holds a Florida Python Challenge that carries cash prizes for most pythons caught, the longest snake and so forth. This year, 934 people from 30 states took part in the effort in July, capturing 294 pythons with a top prize of $10,000 to a participant who bagged 60 of the reptiles.It’s too early to determine how successful the robot rabbit project will be, but officials say initial results are a cause for optimism.“This part of the project is in its infancy,” Kirkland said. “We are confident, though, that this will work once we are given enough time to work out some of these details.” Anderson reported from St. Petersburg, Florida. Curt Anderson and Cody Jackson, Associated Press
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I didn’t notice the scarlet tanager until the alert appeared on my phone: “Merlin heard a new bird!”Despite its brilliant plumagejet-black wings on a crimson bodythe songbird can be a hard one to spot in a forest because it prefers to stay high in the canopy. It sounds a little like a robin to an untrained ear.But the free Merlin Bird ID app detected a scarlet tanager was likely nearby by using artificial intelligence to analyze my phone’s live sound recording. I paused my hike, quietly scanned the treetops, saw the bird as it kept singing and clicked a button to add the species to my growing “life list” of bird sightings. Digital confetti dropped on my screen.Like a real-world version of Pokémon Go, a gotta-catch-’em-all drive to add to my Merlin list has helped me find a great kiskadee in Mexico and a rusty-cheeked scimitar-babbler in the Himalayas. But sometimes the greatest revelations are close to home, as more AI nature app users are starting to discover.“Our stereotypical demographic five years ago would have been retired people and already-avid birders,” said the Merlin app’s manager, Drew Weber, of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. “Now we’re seeing a lot of 20-and-30-year-olds posting stuff on their TikTok or Instagram.” Are you a bird person now? “Am I a bird person now? Am I a bird person now?” exclaims one incredulous TikTok user whose Merlin app detected a tufted titmouse, a cardinal and a Carolina wren within five seconds of her switching on the app.Another video shows Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold gushing about the technology.“That was a northern mockingbird,” says a smirking Darnold, then 27 and now 28, holding his phone up high while sitting in an outdoor lounge chair.The app isn’t always perfect, and mockingbirdsbecause they mimic other bird soundscan sometimes confuse the AI. Was that really a great horned owl that flew over your home and hooted while you left the app on record by the window screen? Maybe, maybe not.“Low-frequency sounds can be challenging because there’s other low frequencies, like cars driving past, that can trick it,” Weber said. AI nature apps are not just for the birds Built-in computer vision technology on newer iPhones and Android devices makes it easier to identify plants and other creatures without having to download an app. Simply look at the flower you just photographed andon iPhonesa leaf icon appears that, when clicked, can suggest the species.But their AI accuracy isn’t always the best for more obscure fauna and insectsand they are missing the immersive community and citizen science experience that free apps like Merlin and the image-based iNaturalist offer.Every observation submitted to iNaturalist, run by a nonprofit, and Cornell’s Merlin is potentially helping with conservation research as animal extinctions and biodiversity loss accelerate around the world.iNaturalist’s executive director, Scott Loarie, sees someone’s urge to identify a backyard plant as just the start of their engagement with the app.“Our strategy is really building this community of really passionate, engaged nature stewards who are not only learning and sharing knowledge about nature, but they’re actually huge engines for creating biodiversity data and conservation action,” Loarie said.Submit an incorrect ID suggested by iNaturalist’s AI and someone with real expertise will often politely correct you. Once there’s enough consensus, you’ll be notified that your observation has made it to “research grade.” Don’t use AI apps to pick strange berries (but I did) On the search for huckleberry, a favorite of jam makers and grizzly bears, I kept iNaturalist handy on an August hike through the Wyoming wilderness.And while I had a hard time finding a huckleberry bush, iNaturalist helped me discover other fruits: a type of serviceberry known as the saskatoon; the big-leafed, raspberry-like thimbleberry, and the vibrant orange berries of the Greene’s mountain-ash, a type of rowan. After cross-checking many other resources, I tasted all three. The first two were sweet, the last bitter and disgusting.“You should never trust any sort of automatic ID or a stranger on the internet for something as important as edible plants,” Loarie said. “So, I definitely don’t want to endorse that. But I’d certainly endorse getting to know plants and animals.”iNaturalist’s executive director, Scott Loarie, sees someone’s urge to identify a backyard plant as just the start of their engagement with the app. The nonprofit also owns a sibling app, Seek, that is kid-friendly and less complicated.Elsewhere, I’ve found it particularly helpful in identifying things to avoidpoison ivy, poison oak, disease-carrying ticksand things to destroy, like a nymph of the invasive spotted lanternfly that’s now infesting at least 19 U.S. states.-Is there a tech topic that you think needs explaining? Write to us at onetechtip@ap.org with your suggestions for future editions of One Tech Tip. Matt O’Brien, AP Technology Writer
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The world of work is constantly evolving. Our understanding of the office has shifted over generations, from bustling open-plan floors, to the rise of individual cubicles. And more recently, the widespread adoption of flexible work arrangements and coworking spaces. Beyond physical environments, the very nature of work has transformed, too. Weve seen the rise of the gig economy, an increasing demand for work-life balance, and a growing emphasis on mobile productivity. These shifts fundamentally redefine how and where we get things done. The mobile productivity paradox As the professional landscape becomes increasingly fluid, a new paradox is emerging. Professionals are more connected than ever, utilizing smartphones to stay productive while on the move. However, for many, true PC-level productivity only happens when they are tethered to their static workstations. This forces compromises, indicating that regular smartphones have not yet adapted to modern ways of working. When we look at how we work on our PCs, its pretty rare that we focus on a single task at once. On a laptop we may be working on split-screen mode. When in the office, more often than not were using at least one external monitor. Should we not expect the same level of multi-tasking on our mobile devices? Smartphone technology advances will reshape work Ultimately, many professionals are concluding that single-screen, single-task devices like regular smartphones are simply not enough for mobile productivity. Sure, they are sufficient for simple one-line email responses, but beyond that, users tend to revert back to their laptops, hindering agility and responsiveness. Foldable form factors are fundamentally changing the way we interact with technology. Their multiscreen, adaptable nature directly addresses regular smartphone limitations for mobile productivity, enabling users to easily switch between their email app and one or two other windows, like instant messaging or PowerPoint. With a stylus, professionals can also easily take notes or sketch on the unfolded screen. Its no surprise, then, that the demand for foldable smartphones is rapidly rising; shipments are expected to exceed 100 million by 2027. They are clearly more than a novelty. Agentic AI: The brains behind foldable technologys brawn The more tech-savvy among you know that foldable smartphones arent new. Theyve been around for quite a few years. While were proud that the HONOR Magic V5 is the worlds thinnest foldable phone, the softwaremore specifically agentic AIis whats pushing mobile productivity to the next level. In the latest Gemini-enabled foldable devices, AI brings about a new type of PC-level mobile productivity. Users can run up to three app windows side by side, for example, reviewing notes, joining a video call, chatting with Gemini, or sharing information with it for feedback at the same time. In the meantime, we are also seeing multiple agents collaborating together to enable new experiences for users. For example, your phone can automatically generate a presentation deck from a shared article, with just one voice command. The future of work is flexible and intelligent For todays professionals, the lines between a personal and work device are quickly blurring. When Steven Jobs first launched the iPhone, it was a combination of iPod, browser, and phone, simplified into one revolutionary device with a less is more ethos. Now, foldables can bring your smartphone, tablet, and even laptop into one. This convergence means your personal device can truly become a fully-functional mobile office, no matter where you arefrom a bustling airport lounge to a quiet home study, or even a client site. This new era of mobile productivity enables heightened levels of agility and responsiveness. It empowers you to focus on the high-value, creative aspects of your work, as your intelligent device handles the more routine or complex organizational tasks, paving the way for a more productive and fulfilling professional life. Rui Guo is group CMO of HONOR Device Co., Ltd.
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