How the BBCs R&D team developed open source machine-learning framework network YOLO (You Only Look Once) for the BBCs Autumnwatch
By Philip Stevens
Published: October 22, 2020
How the BBC's R&D team developed open source machine-learning framework network YOLO (You Only Look Once) for the BBC's Autumnwatch
target=_blank title=Share on LinkedIn class=share-linkedin> How the BBC's R&D team developed open source machine-learning framework network YOLO (You Only Look Once) for the BBC's Autumnwatch
https://www.tvbeurope.com/production-post/bird-watching-without-binoculars title=Share via Email class=share-email>
One of the major problems with making natural history programmes is the fact that the stars' will not take direction from the production team. Try getting a badger to appear on cue, or a bird to feed its young when the programme goes live, and you will appreciate the difficulty. And yet it is these principal characters that the audience wants to see. And the viewers are interested - programmes such as the BBC's Springwatch and Autumnwatch prove the point.
So-called camera traps have, of course, been around for some time. Basically, these are fitted with motion sensors that enable the camera to start shooting when action is detected. However, that action might be a tree moving in the background - and that could mean a memory card filled with brilliant shots of branches moving to and fro - but little sign of wildlife.
Beyond that, many hours are needed for checking through the footage from upwards of 30 Springwatch cameras to determine what could and could not be used.
Using technology To make the work of natural history production teams a little easier, the BBC's Research and Development team has been working on a solution. And it involves Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML). Trials took place during the 2019 Springwatch and Autumnwatch productions, with the technology being used more fully for this year's programming.
We became involved in this project when a natural history producer approached us some time ago, explains Robert Dawes, senior research engineer, BBC R&D. He asked us to look into AI technology to see how we could improve the performance of those sensors and use these resources more effectively.
Dawes continues, We did some initial Artificial Intelligence work using computer vision processing techniques. This involved building a rig that had a camera attached to a small Raspberry Pi computer. This computer monitored continuously the camera's output and enabled us to determine when birds or animals appeared in shot. By using the computer vision techniques, we were able to filter out unwanted triggers such as moving trees. But because ML was not involved, it still did not tell us what kind of animal or bird was there.
Obviously, more was needed and when the R&D team became involved with the Springwatch operation it provided the opportunity they had been looking for. By cabling the local remote wildlife cameras to the OB unit, power was immediately available. This opened up possibilities for using higher-powered computer technology to help with the monitoring purposes.
We wanted to create a system of tools that will keep an eye on the multiple cameras at the same time. This needed to be quite sophisticated and required a method to trigger recordings. This was not only helpful for the live programme production teams, but also for the digital output that allows viewers at home to watch cameras 24 hours a day.
As it turned out, the solution that Dawes and his team devised not only worked for the BBC cameras, but for those operated by third party wildlife teams - such as the RSBP (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) across the United Kingdom - to which the broadcaster has access. Our answer removes the need for someone to be monitoring all these cameras on a continual basis.
So, how does it work? Dawes explains that an open source machine-learning framework network called YOLO (You Only Look Once) was employed. This technology enables the system to recognise objects. For example, if it is used in an office, it can be taught to identify a chair, a monitor, a fridge or a person. In the natural history application, we can teach it to recognise different types of creatures and then put a box around that object. Once that box is in place, it is possible to track where that animal, bird or whatever wanders around the screen.
To enable the system to learn' about the animals, multiple stills of the creatures in question are fed into the computer. These still can run into many thousands as it is important for the system to recognise the subject from many different angles. The computer uses the images to train a system known as a neural network , loosely modelled on the structure of the brain, to recognise what those kind of objects look like. This is a good example of Machine Learning. When the system sees' an object that it recognises as being an animal, it tracks that creature in real time on live video. The set-up means that it will be a creature that is being tracked rather than something else that is moving within the camera's view. In other words, producers can advance from knowing something has happened in the scene' to a creature has moved in the scene'.
In each case, it takes up to three days to import all this basic data to train the neural network. One benefit is that all this can be carried out on a powerful domestic PC - it doesn't require a million-dollar system, emphasises Dawes. It also means it is easy to change the images the system needs to recognise as and when the circumstances change. Clearly, if that process took six months, the system would not be viable.
Creating the data The technology also generates data about the actions so t
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
03/07/2026
New bundle & three Single Packs
Continuing to expand their already sizeable orchestral collection, VSL's latest release introduces three new Single Pack...
03/07/2026
Venue installs new ATC-equipped control room
LSO St Luke's, a unique music venue that also serves as the home of the London Symphony Orchestra, have rec...
03/07/2026
Caden Pearson appointed new Commissioning Editor for NITV
3 July, 2026
Media releases
National Indigenous Television (NITV) has strengthened its commitment...
03/07/2026
1 February 2023
SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email
Munich, Germany, 1st February 2023: Cinegy GmbH, the premier provider of software technology for digit...
03/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/07/2026
Death Star
Andy Marken July 2, 2026
0 Comments
Look, I can't get involved. I've got work to do. It's not that I like the Empire; I hate i...
03/07/2026
Berklee's New Visual Identity: Honoring Our History, Building for What's...
03/07/2026
Scripps Research scientists awarded $2M to advance global disease surveillance Two Gates Foundation grants will expand wastewater surveillance and AI-driven dis...
03/07/2026
Joan Pulupa joins Scripps Research faculty to study the organization of DNA in brain cells and its links to neurodegeneration Using smell-sensing neurons and ad...
02/07/2026
Entering her senior year, this hometown girl is paving a career in live sports production gaining experience in replay and audio and as a TD
In the live-sports...
02/07/2026
In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...
02/07/2026
BLAST, a competitive entertainment company focused on esports, has announced more than $133 million in revenue for 2025, representing more than 40% year-over-ye...
02/07/2026
Riedel Communications has announced official SKAARHOJ panel support for SimplyLive production workflows, enabled through the SimplyLive 2.1 release. The integra...
02/07/2026
The Fire Rescue Service of the Czech Republic has deployed LiveU video-over-bond...
02/07/2026
Gravity Media USA has announced the appointment of Brittney Boston as Head of Business Development, effective July 1, 2026. Based in Nashville, Tennessee, Bosto...
02/07/2026
TwelveLabs, a video intelligence company, has announced $100 million in Series B funding co-led by NEA and NAVER Ventures, with participation from Amazon, Radic...
02/07/2026
The Pro Padel League (PPL) has announced a broadcast partnership with USA Sports that will air five PPL championship matches on CNBC during the 2026 season, the...
02/07/2026
LiveLike, a digital fan engagement platform, has announced eight confirmed FIFA ...
02/07/2026
Cobalt Digital has received Future's Best of Show Award, presented by AV Technology at InfoComm 2026, for its blueCORE family of standalone signal processor...
02/07/2026
Synamedia has announced the appointment of Dr. Tzvi Gerstl as Chief Executive Officer. Paul Segre, who has served as CEO for the past six years, will transition...
02/07/2026
The Esports Foundation (EF) and Sony Group Corporation have announced an expanded collaboration for the Esports World Cup 2026 (EWC), taking place in Paris, Fra...
02/07/2026
Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. ( Z') has announced exclusive broadcast and digital rights for the Bundesliga in India for five years, beginning with the...
02/07/2026
An effort uniting News, Sports, Local, and Telemundo, the 50+-camera live produc...
02/07/2026
Zoey Deutch, John Slattery, Ken Marino, Miles Gutierrez-Riley, and Ben Wang appe...
02/07/2026
Stammering, stuttering, strangulated tones
The Crow Hill Company's latest creation promises to be the most original sound set they've produced to d...
02/07/2026
A new era in unmixing and spectral editing
The latest version of Steinberg's spectral audio-editing software has just arrived, building on the strength...
02/07/2026
Aims to simplify additive synthesis
Sine Machine is the debut launch from Melatonin, a Vienna-based developer who have spent the past six years creating wha...
02/07/2026
Products to remain fully active & supported
Following the news of Native Instruments joining the inMusic brand line-up, Academy and Emmy Award-winning visua...
02/07/2026
What you missed!
Last weekend, Saturday 27 June 2026, saw the debut of Sound On Sounds new GearExpo UK event, the largest dedicated pro-audio event to take ...
02/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
02/07/2026
Following the successful launch of its inaugural APAC Mentoring Programme last month, the Rise AV APAC Regional Council will bring the conversation around mento...
02/07/2026
Blackmagic PYXIS 6K Used to Shoot Director Takahisa Zeze's Cry Out
Brie Clayton July 2, 2026
0 Comments
Highly mobile camera supports tense and de...
02/07/2026
Broadcast Solutions acquires BFE, expanding its lead in European broadcast, medi...
02/07/2026
Berklee Alum and Faculty Perform at Boston Public Library's 250th Anniversar...
02/07/2026
Broadcast Solutions GmbH, a leading systems integrator and provider of innovative solutions for the broadcast media industry, is acquiring BFE Studio und Medien...
02/07/2026
Cinegy GmbH, the premier provider of software-defined television technology, has extended the ingest facility at leading Brazilian sports company LiveMode, work...
02/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
02/07/2026
Standalone processors acknowledged for the innovation and value they bring to Pro AV
Cobalt Digital, a leading designer and manufacturer of signal processing ...
02/07/2026
Synamedia announced today the appointment of Dr Tzvi Gerstl as Chief Executive Officer. Paul Segre, who has served as CEO for the past six years, will transitio...
02/07/2026
Screen Australia backs audience-led filmmaking with new insight-driven initiativ...
02/07/2026
Screen Australia refines guidelines for Narrative Content Development and Docume...
02/07/2026
Maxon Autograph: Introduction to working with Tables
Simon Ubsdell July 1, 2026
0 Comments
An overview of Autograph's ridiculously powerful tables...
02/07/2026
Boston Conservatory's Soir e Breaks Records to Fund Student Scholarships The event achieved 127 percent of its fundraising goal in an evening celebrating ...
How the BBCs R&D team developed open source machine-learning framework network YOLO (You Only Look Once) for the BBCs Autumnwatch
