Crowd ID: Collaborative Tools Connecting People to Biodiversity through Social Networks and Machine Learning (Preproposal #0947206)

康奈尔大学鸟类学实验室（CLO）正在创建一种新型的交互式、问题驱动的在线鸟类识别工具“梅林”，以及相关的游戏、社交网络工具和其他媒体。与现有的基于科学家编写的传统分类密钥的鸟类识别指南不同，Merlin使用机器学习算法和众包数据（由数千人提供的信息）来识别鸟类，并通过每次互动提高Merlin的性能。该工具每年将帮助超过1200万人识别鸟类，并参与集体努力帮助他人。Crowd ID项目将使人们更容易发现鸟类的名字，学习观察和识别技能，找到更多的信息，并欣赏地球的生物多样性。总结性评估计划是衡量参与者的知识、参与和技能的增长，以及行为的变化。对参与者的影响将与不使用Merlin的控制组用户进行比较。Crowd ID工具将被整合到CLO的公民科学和教育项目中，这些项目将覆盖全国超过20万名参与者、学生和教育工作者。Merlin将广泛适用于其他网站、社交网络平台、展览、移动设备、课程和电子现场指南。一旦研制成功，“梅林”就能识别植物、岩石和其他动物。Merlin将促进公民科学项目的发展，这些项目依赖于参与者识别各种生物的能力。

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology (CLO) is creating a new type of interactive, question-driven, online bird-identification tool called "Merlin," along with associated games, social networking tools, and other media. Unlike existing bird-identification guides, which are based on traditional taxonomic keys written by scientists, Merlin uses machine learning algorithms and crowd-sourced data (information provided by thousands of people) to identify birds and improve Merlin's performance with each interaction. The tool will help more than twelve million people a year identify birds and participate in a collective effort to help others. The Crowd ID project will make it easier for people to discover the names of birds, learn observation and identification skills, find more information, and appreciate Earth's biodiversity. The summative evaluation plan is measuring increases in participants' knowledge, engagement, and skills, as well as changes in behavior. Impacts on participants will be compared to a control group of users not using Merlin.Crowd ID tools will be integrated into the CLO's citizen science and education projects, which reach more than 200,000 participants, schoolchildren, and educators across the nation. Merlin will be broadly adapted for use on other websites, social networking platforms, exhibits, mobile devices, curricula, and electronic field guides. Once developed, Merlin can be modified to identify plants, rocks, and other animals. Merlin will promote growth of citizen science projects which depend on the ability of participants to identify a wide range of organisms.