Scientists Launch AI App to Identify Dinosaurs From Footprints

Scientists launched an AI app that identifies dinosaurs by analysing fossil footprints.
Researchers published the study in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The team trained the system using 2,000 unlabelled footprint silhouettes.
The AI compares shapes using eight features, including toe spread and heel position.
The approach avoids errors caused by incorrect human labels.
The app, DinoTracker, lets users upload footprints and explore similar examples.
The system matches expert classifications about 90% of the time.
Researchers say the results support earlier ideas about birdlike dinosaur tracks.
The work involved scientists from University of Edinburgh and Helmholtz-Zentrum.
Experts caution that footprint shapes also depend on movement and ground conditions.