The Tech Behind Haikubox
How we identify & notify when birds are visiting.
The Haikubox Neural Net
A neural network is a specific kind of machine learning or artificial intelligence (AI) that involves training a computer to recognize specific patterns or features in data. In the case of bird identification, a neural network is trained using a vast dataset comprising thousands of accurately labeled bird sounds. This dataset serves as a teaching tool, enabling the computer to learn and distinguish individual bird calls and songs.
Similar to how we teach a toddler the meaning of a word like "dog," the neural network learns through exposure to numerous examples and guided instruction. In the early stages, caregivers provide guidance by associating the word "dog" with actual dogs and reinforcing the concept through positive reinforcement ("That's a dog. What a nice dog!"). As the child encounters new animals, they start to apply their understanding and ask questions like "Dog?" to seek confirmation ("No honey, that's a cat.") or receive positive feedback ("Yes! What a beautiful dog!").
Similarly, the neural network progressively refines its ability to identify new bird sounds it hasn't encountered before, drawing on its extensive training with labeled examples. Through this iterative learning process, the computer becomes highly proficient at recognizing and classifying unfamiliar bird vocalizations.
How Bird Alerts Work
Haikubox offers notifications for your favorite bird species. You'll receive a text notification for any species you select when it is detected four times in a day and hasn't been recently heard. Additionally, "New Bird Alerts" inform you when a vocalizing new bird is nearby, including migrating birds. The system intelligently manages notifications so you aren't overwhelmed with alerts. Simply use the Haikubox mobile app to set up and customize your alerts.
The Haikubox named Tweety identified a new bird: Osprey
Learn your birds’ stories with the Haikubox website and mobile app
- See stunning images of identified species-“Yes, I’ve seen the Black-and-white Warbler!”
- Listen to a recording and see a spectrogram of each bird visit - “Last night’s Cardinals sounded so beautiful!”
- View daily counts plus hourly breakdowns - “A Great Horned Owl was active all night!”
- Share your bird recordings via social media or web link - “You must hear this warbler!”
- Set up alerts - “The Dark-eyed Juncos have arrived!”
- Ranked list of all birds - “I host lots of Red-shouldered Hawks!
- Download your data to .csv file - “More migrating birds this year than last year!”