NeophyteID App launched for invasive plant detection in Kerala

Key facts

• Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan launched the NeophyteID app at the Kerala Science Congress.
• The Malabar Botanical Garden and Institute for Plant Sciences (MBGIPS) developed the AI-powered mobile application to identify invasive plant species across Kerala.
• The app uses the YOLOv11 machine learning model for image recognition and geospatial tracking to detect and map invasive neophyte plants from camera or gallery images.
• NeophyteID operates in English and Malayalam and targets local communities, students, and ecologists for community-based biodiversity management.
• Each user identification updates a real-time distribution map to support research and conservation efforts.
• The app currently includes data on 98 invasive plant species.
• Developer N Aleem Yoosuf conceived the idea during an invasive plant eradication drive with tribal communities at Sughandagiri Tribal Eco Village, Wayanad.
• Zameel Hassan collaborated on the web application component of NeophyteID.