The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Environment Monitoring

Event Info

21st August, 2019
Seminar Hall, SEECS, NUST
Workshop General Chair: Dr. S. M. Hassan Zaidi – Principal SEECS, NUST
Chief Guest: State Minister for Climate Control, Ms. Zartaj Gul

National University of Sciences & Technology (NUST) held themed workshops on The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Environment Monitoring honored by the presence of State Minister for Climate Change, Ms. Zartaj Gul. The workshops focused on the use of latest technology like Artificial Intelligence, and Internet of Things (IoT) to address the critical environmental issues including water scarcity, water quality monitoring, and deforestation. On the occasion, Ms. Zartaj Gul commended the efforts done by NUST for taking the critical issues directly into consideration and instigating a strong impetus for problem solving through innovation and latest technology. Ms Gul stated during her talk that the Government of Pakistan has been taking tangible initiatives to counteract environmental challenges in order to achieve the mission of “Clean and Green Pakistan Movement”.

The environment of Pakistan is suffering from serious degradation. The resources are depleting and we are in dire need of seeking technological assistance that supports the framework for balanced socio-economic development, management, and conservation of the country’s resources. In such a crunch time, School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (SEECS) has undertaken the challenge and joined hands with the international community to bridge gaps between environmental problems and their solutions by using modern technologies. The relevant projects being undertaken at SEECS include the use of satellite imagery and remote sensing data to monitor our water resources and forests which form the integral part of our environment. AI-powered systems are being developed to keep track of the water levels in major reservoirs, in order to predict water availability and generate advance warnings for upcoming floods. Another project makes use of Internet of Things (IoT) for monitoring of water quality in major water catchment areas. To monitor the impact of billion tree tsunami project by KPK government, we are developing AI-based technology that can automatically identify the change in the forestation of a particular area over the last five years through remote sensing data. Similar technology is being explored to identify the trends of crops harvesting year over year in farmlands.

The workshops were organized by SEECS, NUST in collaboration with the German Academic Exchange Service and Pakistan Pattern Recognition Society. Speakers from all around the world including Germany, China, Japan, and Sweden delivered insightful talks on the topics of environmental monitoring through modern technology.

Prof. Dr. Marcus Liwicki from Lulea University of Technology, Sweden provided insights on using low-cost sensors to monitor water quality.

Prof. Dr. Ulrich Schwanecke and Prof. Dr. Adrian Ulges from RheinMain University of Applied Sciences, Germany, gave lectures on using satellite imagery for water resource estimation.

Dr. Sheraz Ahmed from German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence discussed about depleting green lands from the world and how AI technology can be used for effective monitoring of deforestation.

Prof. Dr. Cheng-Lin Liu from Chinese Academy of Sciences, China gave his valuable insights about the climatic challenges being faced by the world and measures that need to be taken to find solutions rich in modern technology.

Prof. Dr. Seiichi Uchida from Kyushu University, Japan shed light on how the international community can benefit from advanced collaborative technological platforms to tackle the global environmental challenges together.

Such AI-powered systems being developed at SEECS will support the policy makers in taking effective measures to preserve our environment, thereby, casting a positive impact on our country’s economy. The three-day workshop is a key step in the right direction to preserve our motherland. Ms. Zartaj Gul highly appreciated the outreach of applications achievable through Artificial Intelligence and how they can support the government in achieving a Clean and Green Pakistan. The organization of such international events opens doorways to bring international academic community to Pakistan and strengthen the research collaborations. It helps in the initiation and establishment of thematic networks, especially between participants from different universities of Pakistan and abroad for exchange of ideas, expertise, and experiences. The in-depth discussions at the event with the international experts help out in the identification and description of new scientific research problems which are specific to the developing countries, like Pakistan, and equip our next generation with the advanced tools and technologies that can assist in the aversion of both local and global problems.