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Video: how to use SWAROVSKI OPTIK'S digital guide
Sponsored Feature
3 June 2020
As the World has faced major health and economic challenges recently, you may have missed all the latest technology that has been released in 2020 for bird and animal observers. Right at the top of the list, was the release of the digital guide (dG) from SWAROVSKI OPTIK back in April - the first long-range optical device to allow you to identify, document sightings and share them with other people. All from the touch of a button.
The new digital guide device has been a game changer for bird identification purposes and for the first time, the new technology gives user's instant access to accurate species ID via your smartphone or tablet, meaning you can learn more about the wildlife you are observing whatever your skill level and knowledge. Something for everyone in fact.
Smartphones are becoming an increasingly important part of birding. If you want to be the first person to hear about a rare bird, or submitting your sightings for others to see quickly, having a small portable computer at your fingertips is enabling all of this to happen. We also look to our smartphones as ID aids now that field guides are handily packaged into apps.
But what if your app could instantly scan your photo and match it to a species based on an archive of millions of bird images? Well now of course - It can.
The Merlin Bird ID app was developed by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology to do just this, taking a photo you snap in the field, and suggesting an identification. Photo ID identifies birds in photos using computer vision technology trained on nearly 3 million images uploaded to Macaulay Library through eBird checklists. The high accuracy of the Photo ID tool is largely thanks to the extensive collection of images at Macaulay Library, showing birds from many different angles.
You can see for yourself how the dG works and the simplicity involved in using the device in the video above.
The dG is available to buy from SWAROVSKI OPTIK retailers and online at swarovskioptik.com
Find your nearest stockist here > uk.swarovskioptik.com/birding/dg-c210111
The new digital guide device has been a game changer for bird identification purposes and for the first time, the new technology gives user's instant access to accurate species ID via your smartphone or tablet, meaning you can learn more about the wildlife you are observing whatever your skill level and knowledge. Something for everyone in fact.
Smartphones are becoming an increasingly important part of birding. If you want to be the first person to hear about a rare bird, or submitting your sightings for others to see quickly, having a small portable computer at your fingertips is enabling all of this to happen. We also look to our smartphones as ID aids now that field guides are handily packaged into apps.
But what if your app could instantly scan your photo and match it to a species based on an archive of millions of bird images? Well now of course - It can.
The Merlin Bird ID app was developed by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology to do just this, taking a photo you snap in the field, and suggesting an identification. Photo ID identifies birds in photos using computer vision technology trained on nearly 3 million images uploaded to Macaulay Library through eBird checklists. The high accuracy of the Photo ID tool is largely thanks to the extensive collection of images at Macaulay Library, showing birds from many different angles.
You can see for yourself how the dG works and the simplicity involved in using the device in the video above.
The dG is available to buy from SWAROVSKI OPTIK retailers and online at swarovskioptik.com
Find your nearest stockist here > uk.swarovskioptik.com/birding/dg-c210111
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