Half the power, all the kiwi
As we make HARK more widely available, we're starting Field Notes: a regular look at what we're working on and how it performs in the field. Each note focuses on one part of HARK and shows real results.
We're focusing hard on New Zealand and getting that right first, while preparing the platform so it can be used in other countries too. We've improved the device a lot since we last updated the website, and each of these posts will share one of those improvements. Today we'd like to share a couple of things with you.
Half the power
Some of you know we won the Christchurch Airport Hi-Tech Solution for the Public Good at the NZ Hi-Tech Awards 2026. What you probably don't know is that we've been hard at work and out in the field, and today we're excited to announce that we've halved our power consumption. HARK now uses under 60 mW while running its models on every sound, less than most recorders use just to record. It uses half the power, but it still runs a world-class model.
In the fieldStarting with the kiwi
We're sure a lot of you are wondering how good this model is. We've been fine-tuning Perch 2.0 for each species, one bird at a time, so each one is the best it can be. We'll be sharing more of these birds in our field notes, but today we thought it'd be appropriate to start with the North Island brown kiwi.
We've now collected thousands of kiwi recordings, each classified by experts. Our model now catches about 96 out of 100 kiwi calls, and of the ones it says are kiwi, 99 out of 100 really are.
- Calls caught: about 96 in 100
- When it says kiwi, it's right 99 times in 100
What it hears
Use the arrows to step through ten example recordings, and see where each one sits on the chart. The further right a dot sits, the more confident the model is that it's hearing a kiwi.
- Caught
- Missed call
- Got it wrong
- Other non-kiwi sounds
Clip 1 of 10 Caught
10 different clips from the field. They play one after another, or use the arrows.
It's been a tremendous undertaking, but we believe it's an important mission for New Zealand and the world. As we release these posts, each one will give you a little more insight into what we've improved and what you can expect from HARK.
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