Developing an app for Swiss Citizen Scientists to automatically identify plant species in the field

In the sister project COMECO, we developed an artificial intelligence that can reliably identify Swiss plant species when images, coordinates, and time stamps are available. In this project, we developed, in close collaboration with InfoFlora, a user-friendly tool that makes the capabilities of this artificial intelligence freely available. The tool is called FlorID and is available in a WSL version and an InfoFlora version.

The WSL version of FlorID consists of a freely accessible API, which can be queried via the SpeciesID App. The WSL version of FlorID is part of a development environment in which we will test extensions and improvements, and, potentially, develop identification tools for additional species groups. Moreover, the WSL version of FlorID provides detailed information about how image and habitat information have contributed to an identification. These services are freely accessible and may be of interest to experts. However, the WSL version of FlorID is not designed for high demand.

The InfoFlora version of FlorID is integrated into the service environment of InfoFlora and equipped with an intuitively understandable and well-linked user interface. It consists of a website (https://florid.ch/) and a module in the popular FlorApp. Connected to the website is a public API, which allows for easy integration of FlorID into additional smartphone apps and can be used for free as long as the number of queries per time remains within reasonable limits. These developments support interested botanists of all experience levels in the field, and they serve InfoFlora to quality control their biodiversity database.