According to the WWF’s Living Planet Report, populations of monitored vertebrate species have decreased by an average of nearly 70% since 1970, and some species have vanished entirely or stand on the brink of extinction.

This is not just a statistic; it’s a stark reminder that the world we share with countless other forms of life is at a critical tipping point.

That’s why Microsoft’s AI for Good Lab announced SPARROW—Solar-Powered Acoustic and Remote Recording Observation Watch. SPARROW is an AI-powered edge computing solution designed to operate autonomously in the most remote corners of the planet. Solar-powered and equipped with advanced sensors, it collects biodiversity data—from camera traps, acoustic monitors, and other environmental detectors—that are processed using our most advanced PyTorch-based wildlife AI models on low-energy edge GPUs. The resulting critical information is then transmitted via low-Earth orbit satellites directly to the cloud, allowing researchers to access fresh, actionable insights in real time, no matter where they are.

SPARROW is a network of Earth-bound satellites, quietly observing and reporting on the health of our ecosystems without disrupting them. By leveraging solar energy, these devices can run for a long time, minimizing their footprint and any potential harm to the environment.