NautreID is an application with a very simple vocation: with a photo of a plant, a dog or a cat, it is able to tell us the species or the breed in a few seconds. The application relies on artificial intelligence to instantly recognize the specimen in front of us with a very extensive database of more than 10,000 plants, 480 dogs and 100 cats. It’s that simple, with a photo.
Basic operation: one photo
The app itself is very simple, but as soon as we use it we discover several layers of information. I want to thank the developer for not cluttering the interface, if we want to dig into more information we will find it easily, otherwise it will never get in the way.
The application itself is divided into 5 sections: Home, Feed, Capture, My yard and Account. The first tab, the home screen, offers us the possibility of searching manually, if we know the name of the plant or the animal, we can directly consult all the information that the application can offer us. If it’s a plant, it tells us how much irrigation it needs, the light it needs, the ideal temperature and height it will reach, for example.
The second tab, Feed, gives us access to all the captures that are made in the application. We can see other users’ photos and access the information we just commented on. It’s a good site for gardening ideas, for example.
The capture tab is the simplest and at the same time the most important. At the bottom we can choose if we want to recognize a plant, a dog or a cat or leave the decision to the system with the automatic mode. Center the subject to be scanned in the central box and we capture. We can also choose, in the case of plants, if we want to identify the species or the disease that we know, we will talk about it shortly.
The My yard tab allows us to save the identifications we have made so that we can consult the information of our pets or plants from a single section. Finally, the account allows us to edit our profile in the mini social network of the application to publish photos and other content.
More features: disease detection and lots of information
Well, so far we’ve seen the basics, so to speak, of the app – take a photo and learn about the species or breed of a pet or plant. But the app offers much more. Before continuing, I would like to stop for a moment to point out that the app is free, but includes a subscription. The subscription allows us to unlock the limit of the recognitions that we can make and also eliminates advertising in the app. Can it be used without a subscription? Clearly, in complete comfort. Maybe not hyperintensive use, but more than enough for multiple exams at specific times.
There are a few more details about the app that I want to highlight that put NatureID ahead of the other alternatives present in the App Store. The first is the amount of information it gives us about the recognized animal or plant. The information is standardized in a table at the top that allows us to see the most relevant at a glance. Then if we keep reading it tells us about the character of the animal to the type of soil the plant needs to live comfortably.
The other big detail is the recognition of plant diseases. Do you have yellow leaves? Brown stains? Too much water at the roots? Two photos and we will have the answer. Just identify the type of plant and then take a photo of the affected part. The app will recognize the cause and show us an explanation as well as a suggested solution. Is it infallible? No, but clear enough for the most common situations.
As we can see, a fairly round application. The one who offers us what he promises with rather surprising results. It might not be our app for everyday use, but it’s definitely worth having on our iPhone when we have questions about plants or pets.
