Red Imported Fire Ants (RIFA) are one of the most invasive species to reach
Australian shores posing a significant risk to the natural ecology since they were
first detected in 2001. RIFA have the potential to cause more damage to the natural
ecology than other known pests such as foxes, wild dogs and cats, camels, rabbits,
and cane toads combined. RIFA has cost billions of dollars to other economies,
hence the need to act fast in Australia. On-ground human and canine teams are used
to locate and eradicate RIFA nests. However, these teams are resource-intensive
and difficult to scale across large areas of land. Therefore, Outline sought to
investigate and develop a remote sensing solution using aerial imagery and
AI-generated insights to complement existing in-field surveillance efforts.