Using a combination of computer vision and artificial intelligence (AI), Brazilian company SciPet is working on developing an app to identify animals.

Called CrowdPet, the app will use data from photos of lost pets that have been registered by their owners to compare with images taken by volunteers of animals wandering the streets.

"The app establishes a match between two images using computational visual recognition, and pinpoints by geolocation the place where the picture of the lost animal was taken," says Fabio Rogério Piva, CEO of SciPet.

Already in use in Brazilian city Vinhedo, the city's Center for Animal Disease Control uses the app to help identify and register animals as part of the city's vaccination campaign and assists in keeping that registry information up to date.

The app successfully completed the first phase of testing by accurately distinguishing images of cats and dogs from all other images.

"Even if a user photographs people or objects, the system will register only photos of animals," Piva explains.

According to researchers, SciPet's studies are among some of the first attempting to apply biometry to animals.

"It showed that human facial biometry methods aren't very effective to identify dogs. Using a method specially developed for animals, they achieved 89 percent accuracy, equivalent to the success rate obtained by a human observer who specializes in dogs."

The researchers are now preparing to further their efforts by attempting to accurately identify each animal.