Illinois Tech Team Returns from Amazon After XPRIZE Rainforest Finals
CHICAGO – October 1, 2024 – A team led by Illinois Institute of Technology (Illinois Tech) Professor Matthew Spenko has returned from the Amazon after participating in the finals of the prestigious XPRIZE Rainforest competition. The collaborative team, known as “Welcome to the Jungle,” included members from Purdue University, Natural State, The Morton Arboretum, the Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden-Chinese Academy of Sciences, and local Indigenous communities. This diverse group pooled their expertise to advance rainforest conservation efforts.
The XPRIZE Rainforest competition, a five-year global initiative with a $10 million prize, challenged teams to develop rapid and autonomous technology for monitoring biodiversity and collecting data. This technology aims to enhance understanding of tropical rainforest ecosystems.
After the semi-finals in Singapore during the spring of 2023, six teams progressed to the final round, held in the Amazon in July 2024. The teams were evaluated on their ability to survey the most biodiversity within 24 hours and provide the most impactful real-time insights in a 48-hour timeframe.
“This experience has been transformative for all of us involved,” said Spenko, a professor in the Department of Mechanical, Materials, and Aerospace Engineering. “The interdisciplinary nature of our team allowed us to combine expertise from multiple fields, resulting in innovative solutions and a deeper comprehension of the rainforest ecosystem. We are incredibly proud of our accomplishments and the collaborative spirit that fueled our success.”
To identify key species within the rainforest environment, the Welcome to the Jungle team utilized a multifaceted approach. This included:
- Local and Indigenous knowledge experts.
- Remote sensing via automated drone flights and satellite data to assess the tree canopy and landscape.
- Drone-deployed sensor packages placed in the canopy to capture acoustic data.
- Imagery and environmental DNA (eDNA) sequencing for biodiversity identification and classification.
Spenko’s partners at Purdue University, led by Associate Professor of Civil Engineering Jinha Jung, took the lead on aerial surveying to measure vegetation. They also worked to quantify tree species’ diversity, and determine optimal sensor deployment locations.
“The integration of aerial surveying technology with on-the-ground data has provided unprecedented insights into the rainforest’s biodiversity,” said Jung, a member of Purdue’s Institute for Digital Forestry. “Our teamwork has shown the power of combining cutting-edge technology with ecological research to address environmental issues effectively.”
In one instance that highlighted the team’s interdisciplinary approach, Welcome to the Jungle relied on Indigenous knowledge of local flora to identify potential water sources. They then used drones to collect and analyze the water for eDNA. While the quantity of water collected wasn’t sufficient to produce robust eDNA results due to low water levels during the dry season, the episode illustrated how traditional knowledge can support scientific efforts.
Throughout the competition, the team was committed to adhering to Brazilian laws concerning genetic heritage, traditional knowledge, and benefit-sharing. XPRIZE partnered with the National Institute of Amazonian Research (INPA) to secure the necessary permits for collecting genetic samples, including eDNA. All genetic samples were registered through SISGEN, ensuring transparency and compliance with regulations. Additionally, the team ensured that no data would be published or shared without clearance from XPRIZE and its genetic partners.
Looking ahead, the team is committed to exploring future partnerships with Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (ILPCs). Their goal is to ensure any benefit-sharing agreements are legal, fair, and respectful of the communities’ rights and contributions.
“The Welcome to the Jungle team exemplifies the power of interdisciplinary partnerships in advancing our understanding of rainforest ecosystems,” said Chai-Shian Kua, Ph.D, senior conservation officer of The Morton Arboretum’s Center for Species Survival: Trees. “By combining expertise from technology, ecology, and local knowledge, we have been able to achieve a more comprehensive understanding of the rainforest’s biodiversity and the critical role it plays in our global ecosystem.”
Natural State, a Kenya-based nonprofit dedicated to global nature restoration, supported the team by developing innovative monitoring and data transmission technologies. The non-profit is dedicated to catalyzing nature restoration on a global scale and developing African-based innovations to create sustainable solutions.
“A significant challenge in linking nature and finance is the absence of rigorous, cost-effective impact monitoring systems,” said Natural State field researcher Margaret Njuguna. “To address this and help catalyze markets for Nature-based Solutions (NBS), Natural State has developed a verifiable impact monitoring system called uKweli (meaning ‘Truth’ in Kiswahili). This system quantifies the impacts of restoration projects in terms of carbon, biodiversity, and social benefits. It is transparent, cost-effective, and quantifiable, and can be verified by third parties. Additionally, we incorporated the use of Kutuma app (meaning ‘To send’ in Kiswahili), a field-to-cloud data transmission system that is highly robust and functions well even in areas with low internet connectivity. These innovations significantly improve our ability to monitor and protect vital ecosystems, particularly rainforests.”
The XPRIZE Rainforest competition also offered Illinois Tech students the opportunity to work alongside a global team of experts, providing hands-on experience in a highly biodiverse environment.
“Participating in the XPRIZE Rainforest project is an incredible learning experience and an eye-opening adventure,” said Khang Pham (AE/M.S. Autonomous Systems and Robotics 4th Year), an Illinois Tech student. “We got to participate in a hands-on, meaningful project with the involvement of many different institutions and experts in several disciplines, bringing a more holistic understanding of how scientists and experts can come together to achieve something great. Doing fieldwork is really exhausting, but also very rewarding as you get to new perspectives that are hard to see with just a theoretical view.”
Kevin Cassel, Illinois Tech’s vice provost of academic affairs and former dean of Illinois Tech’s Armour College of Engineering, emphasized the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration in advancing applied research and providing experiential learning opportunities for students.
“Professor Spenko’s team has been an inspiring example of how experts across disciplines can collaborate to push the boundaries of science and technology to advance our understanding of diverse ecosystems, and I’m grateful that the XPRIZE Rainforest competition has given Illinois Tech an opportunity to undertake such an impactful collaboration,” said Cassel. “This project not only advances our scientific knowledge but also offers invaluable practical experience for our students, preparing them to tackle real-world challenges.”
Illinois Tech alumnus Jim Albrecht (FE ’53, M.S. ’55) generously contributed to Welcome to the Jungle’s travel expenses.
The winner of the XPRIZE Rainforest competition is to be announced later this year.
