CM to launch invasive species detection app

Kochi: An invasive species detection app, NeophyteID, will be launched at the Kerala Science Congress by chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Sunday. Developed by researchers at the Malabar Botanical Garden and Institute for Plant Sciences (MBGIPS), it is an AI-powered mobile application designed to help users identify invasive plant species across Kerala.Powered by the YOLOv11 machine learning model, the app leverages image recognition and geospatial tracking to accurately detect and map invasive (neophyte) plant species directly from your camera or gallery.
"Each identification contributes to a real-time distribution map, supporting research, conservation, and community-based biodiversity management. We designed it to be user-friendly and accessible in English and Malayalam. It is aimed as a citizen-friendly app which enables local communities, students and ecologists to collectively monitor, report and manage the spread of invasive plants threatening native flora and ecosystems," said N Aleem Yoosuf, who developed the app with support from his guide and scientist in-charge, MBGIPS, N S Pradeep.Yoosuf said that it was during a session with indigenous tribal communities of Sughandagiri Tribal Eco Village, Wayanad, that the idea to develop an app popped up. "After my talk, we did an invasive plant eradication drive. The participants removed native plants along with the invasive plants," he said, adding that the web application was done with his friend Zameel Hassan.The mobile app allows the user to either click or upload a pic from the phone gallery. Once uploaded, all the information on whether it is an invasive species will scroll out with pictures. "We can clear the plants from our backyard also. We fed information on nearly 98 plants as of now," he said.