Australian Snake Species Model Computer Vision Project

The general purpose of my model is to identify three snake species in Australia. I will first use the Oxyuranus microlepidotus Taipan, which is referred to as the Inland Taipan (Billabong Sanctuary, n.d). I will then use the Oxyuranus scutellatus Taipan, which is referred to as the Coastal Taipan (Beatson, n.d). My third classification I will be using is the Pseudonaja textilis Brown-Snake, which is referred to as the Eastern-Brown-Snake (Wikipedia, 2024). I have created an object detection model. My data was derived from Google Images and iNaturalist. When searching for each snake, I typed in the name of the snake for each class. I mainly focused on getting clear-cut images that mainly focus on the head of the snake, since most of the differences between each focus there. I am hoping this project will reach out to audiences, such as any student interested in science, any professors that may be interested or be teaching Environmental Studies courses, and overall anyone interested in learning more about Australian snake species, since each of these species is some of the most dangerous in the world. My model will be valuable in being able to distinguish between the species, since each looks very similar. So, my overall goal of the project is to be able to identify the physical differences between the snakes, so scientists and educators can use this model to detect dangerous snakes in Australia. This model was created for a class assignment in AI and Natural History at St. Mary’s College of Maryland.

References: Beatson, A. C. (n.d.). Coastal Taipan. The Australian Museum. https://australian.museum/learn/animals/reptiles/coastal-taipan/#:~:text=Scientific name%3A Oxyuranus scutellatus,mungkan people of Cape York. Billabong Sanctuary. (n.d.). Discover the deadly beauty of the inland taipan. https://www.billabongsanctuary.com.au/inland-taipan/ Wikimedia Foundation. (2024b, March 13). Eastern Brown snake. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_brown_snake#:~:text=The eastern brown snake (Pseudonaja,snake%20in%20the%20family%20Elapidae.