Hi Chris,

I can say I've had some good experience with the Lotek Pinpoint tags that Rob mentioned.

You could also get in touch with ICARUS program at Max Planck (https://www.icarus.mpg.de/en).  They've developed a new tracking system, with their own first reciever on the ISS.  I think there are some limitations on the availability of their tags now as they're still ramping up their program.

Kyler

Hi all! Just wanted to add in that @gracieermi and I maintain a conservation tech directory that includes all the tracking/telemetry companies we've come across so far - conservationtech.directory. 

Currently listed doing a search of the directory - 

Cellular Tracking Technologies - https://celltracktech.com/ 

Advanced Telemetry Systems (ATS) - ​​https://atstrack.com/index.html

Ecotone Telemetry - http://www.ecotone-telemetry.com/index.php/en/oferta/obroze-telemetryczne

GPS Collars - https://www.gps-collars.com/ 

Lotek - https://www.lotek.com/

Microwave Telemetry - https://www.microwavetelemetry.com/

Milsar - https://milsar.com/

Technosmart Europe - https://www.technosmart.eu/

Telemetry Solutions - https://www.telemetrysolutions.com/

Telenax - https://telenax.com/

Telonics - https://www.telonics.com/index.php

Tigrinus - https://www.tigrinus.com.br/

Titley Scientific - https://www.titley-scientific.com/us/products/wildlife-tracking

Wildlife Computers - https://wildlifecomputers.com/

Xerius Tracking - http://www.xeriustracking.fr/

North Star - http://www.northstarst.com/

Migrate Tech - http://www.migratetech.co.uk/ 

e-obs GmbH - https://e-obs.de/

Africa Wildlife Tracking - https://awt.co.za/ 

Holohil - https://www.holohil.com/

Wildlife Materials - https://wildlifematerials.com/

Vectronic Aerospace/Vectronics - https://www.vectronic-aerospace.com/

Kiwi Track - https://kiwitrack.weebly.com/

If the animal is truly elsusive, not knowing when the tag would fall of, where it would fall off, if I can get it once it falls off would be questions I would need to think hard about. If the tags are cheap, and the animals pick them up easily, so I can deploy a considerable amount of them, the decision would be much easier. But if the animal is rare and elusive, each data point would be valuable, so not being able to retrieve a tag, or a tag getting detached very quickly, becomes costly.

But I do ge tthe concerns of immobilizing animals, and the desire to avoid going through the stress of capture and immobilizing, being able to avoid that is very valuable too.

You could use Movebank for this, stream the data into a study, manage sharing settings to make some public and keep others private if needed.  Lots of non-bird data in there!

Cheers

Roland

You might also check out the Ocean Data Platform team at https://www.oceandata.earth/  They're trying to be a one-stop shop for ocean data and have recently ingested all the IOC data. EMODNet has an ingestion portal and data ambassadors who can negotiate data sharing agreements and anonymization/aggregation. Also @ThomasGray_Argos  data sharing agreements and data governance is something I work on and would be interested in talking more about the privacy/user data issues you mention. I;ve been thinking about the need for a data intermediary that can hold data safely, scrub PII, and then share it with open platforms so each sensor owner or small entitty doesn't have to negotiate their own data sharing licenses.

@skatewing Shoot me an email, and we can discuss ([email protected]up.com). 

I would reach out to Andrew Digby with the Kākāpō Project! They use "smart hoppers" that are supplementary feeders that only open for specific individuals based on their tags.

You might also reach out to Econode (https://www.econode.nz/) who make "smart traps." They use LoRaWAN to send notifications about if tracks are triggered but I'm not sure if they've incorporated RFID receivers into the system. They're based out of New Zealand. 

Hi Caitlin,

Years ago we designed a sort of similar 'trap', although it did not have the ability to actually capture/hold an individual. Our idea was a two capture occasion process: the first where animals in an area were physically captured and outfitted with RFID. Then, for a second capture occasion, we placed our 'traps' in the same area, with each trap having both an RFID logger and a trail camera. That way, we knew whether an individual caught on camera had an RFID tag or not (i.e. by comparing timestamps) and could work out if it was a new individual. Traps were actually tunnels made out of PVC drain pipe with two entrances/exits (so an animal wouldn't feel trapped), each of which had an RFID antenna fitted to the outside. The camera sat at the back of the tunnel so it could record animals entering or leaving from either entrance. Here's a picture:

The RFID logger we used was this (LINK) although it looks like it's sold out. It had an auxilliary daughter board that could be used for the second entrance antenna (LINK). Antennas we used were these (LINK). 

We never got to do a lot of testing, but in a pilot study it seemed to do ok. I am happy to share any relevant files etc., I have to build it all, but it sounds like you need something a lot more sophisticated. The logger from @sam_octanis looks amazing and so does Sarah Knowles'. 

I was always keen on exploring the next logical step of this process to which was actually a device that could deploy tags if an animal wasn't tagged. Our idea was something akin to an 'orchid' which deposited a tag on the back of an animal while it was a feeding source. We figured some sort of glue would probably work (e.g. UV cured glue) although retention rates would be interesting. Might be long enough for a two or three capture occasion study though...

Anyway, I am happy to help if I can and could even send some of our gear to @Freaklabs if you end up collaborating as they no doubt could build a very suitable system for ya.

All the best,

Rob

Hi Caitlin,

you might also look at this RFID logger sold by Labmaker:

Greetings from Austria,

Robin

Very interesting! There has been a few projects - I think Open Collars has used this as well as Adam Ford from UBCO in Canada. 

One of the largest challenges is the different country-by-country regulations on drone use. Research in some countries is commercial use and requires a commercial drone pilot's license - most countries prohibit autonomous or beyond-line-of-sight fligt. Likely both will get will easier as regulations adjust to technology.

LoRA raw materials are very cheap. Depending on study goals and animals deploying stationary Lora base stations to download LoRA data locally and then connection through cell or satellite from the base station. 

Yes I've been talking with a few different people about how to set up a LoRA gateway and network of stations to pull data from acoustic monitors or camera traps. I'm very much on the conservation side of conservation tech though, so I have very minimal experience in the engineering and computer science side of things! I work in Madagascar and I'm not exactly sure what their regulations are (it may be difficult to find out too...).