In Chuvashia, Rare Red Book Animals to Come to Life on Smartphones
Chuvashia is preparing a digital version of its regional Red Book. Augmented reality technology will let residents see endangered animals and birds directly on their phone screens.
The new project, called Interaktivnaya Krasnaya kniga Chuvashii: oni nuzhdayutsya v zashchite (Interactive Red Book of Chuvashia: They Need Protection), is being developed by the Chuvashia Ministry of Natural Resources together with environmental activists from Eco Transformation as part of the Ekologicheskoye blagopoluchiye (Environmental Well-Being) national project.
When users point their smartphone camera at a special marker or QR code, they will see three-dimensional models of rare animals in their natural habitats. This will let them examine the animals in detail without disturbing them in the wild.
The images for the app will come from the archives of the republic’s specially protected natural areas, as well as the Prisursky Nature Reserve and Chavash Varman National Park.
Chuvashia’s list of protected species currently includes 229 representatives of the region’s fauna, 74 of them birds.
