With the lockdown, we have all had a chance to slow down and look around more. I’ve installed some new apps on my phone over the months and I wanted to share them.
Not many people know I am a keen conservationist. I’m deeply interested in forestry and ecosystems. The first two apps will be of interest if you too are interested in the natural world.
Seek
Seek uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) in conjunction with your device’s camera to scan trees, plants, fungus, animals, all sorts of nature, and tells you what it is. If you see a flower you like and don’t know what it is, Seek might help to identify it exactly or narrow it down. It is very accurate for native species, reasonably good on cultivated plants like you might find in gardens. I haven’t tried all the species it can identify; it is surprisingly extensive. You can earn badges for spotting birds, fish, amphibians, insects etc.
We planted a vegetable garden, there was a ‘cabbage’ which grew which we didn’t recognize. Seek said it was a Poppy, we were sure it wasn’t a poppy as it was growing next to the lettuce. Well, the ‘cabbage’ flowered:
Yeah, it is a Poppy! Technology 1, Human 0.
Seek works without an Internet connection which is great when you are far away from civilization.
BirdNet
Seek is great, but it’s hard to scan a bird, it’s easier to identify birds from their song. BirdNet can record bird song and then tell you which bird you recorded. Again, BirdNet uses AI to identify which bird has been recorded. It cannot analyse the song without an internet connection, but you can analyse your recording when you get home.
Now three apps which look to the skies, because it has been generally quieter, maybe you noticed birds singing when you wouldn’t usually, I’ve started to look up and around more often:
Star Tracker
With this app, you can aim your device at the sky, and it will show you which star or constellation is which. I like that it will give you a notification when a particular planet is visible from your location.
Flightradar24
With a massive reduction in flights, I started wondering what planes were flying above me. I found lots of private flights making short city to city hops, a few flights coming to the UK from China carrying personal protective equipment (PPE). You won’t see military or police flights on this app.
ISS Detector
With SpaceX’s historic mission to send astronauts to the International Space Station (IIS), I wanted to see the station from the earth. This app will let you know when the IIS will be passing your location. I was surprised at the speed it travels across our sky.
All these apps are free, give them a try, I hope you find something of interest. Feel free to drop me a comment if you find something interesting.