Ten years ago, we couldn't have imagined how tools like machine learning, eDNA, and satellites would advance and transform conservation work. Now technology is advancing faster than ever, and as tools become smaller, lighter, and more affordable, it's vital to have a space where community members can discuss the next big thing, share ideas, compare tool options, and tell the story of their experiences - positive, negative, and anything in between - while using new technologies.
In 2021, the WILDLABS State of Conservation Tech report detailed what tools show the most promise according to community members, as well as what tools are currently seen as the most effective. And as new tools enter the field, we're excited to see how this data will change over time, and how this group grows over time as well.
Our State of Conservation Tech research also discusses something called the "Hype Cycle" - the pattern that occurs when a new technology bursts onto the scene, promises to be an exciting solution, encounters challenges as new users adopt the tool and put it into practice beyond just theory, and eventually settles into its most effective state as users acquire the right skills to use it to its actual potential. Machine learning, one of the most promising technologies, is currently in the middle of its own hype cycle, and we see community members working through their own hurdles to incorporate ML into their work effectively. Despite what you may think, this Hype Cycle can also be positive for tech development, as it means that users have big ideas for new tools, and with the right resources and skills, they can work toward bringing those ideas to life. And as our community members experiences the Hype Cycle for various tools at their own paces, we hope this group will also serve as a place to discuss that process and overcome hurdles together.
Ready to discover new possibilities? Join our Emerging Tech group now and get to know your forward-thinking conservation tech peers!
Header photo: Internet of Elephants
March 2024
event
February 2024
Description | Activity | Replies | Groups | Updated |
---|---|---|---|---|
Hi Danilo. you seem very passionate about this initiative which is a good start.It is an interesting coincidence that I am starting another project for the coral reefs in the... |
|
Acoustics, AI for Conservation, Biologging, Camera Traps, Citizen Science, Climate Change, Community Base, Connectivity, Drones, Emerging Tech, Human-Wildlife Conflict, Open Source Solutions, Sensors, Software and Mobile Apps, Wildlife Crime | 3 months 2 weeks ago | |
Hi!I would take a look at Although developed for camera trap imagery, it is by no means restricted to such.Cheers,Lars |
|
Camera Traps, Community Base, Data management and processing tools, Drones, Emerging Tech, Remote Sensing & GIS, Software and Mobile Apps | 3 months 3 weeks ago | |
Hi folks! Happy 2024 and thanks in advance for your patience in case I over-used tags. If you’re using any form of natural language... |
|
AI for Conservation, Citizen Science, Climate Change, Conservation Tech Training and Education, Data management and processing tools, Early Career, East Africa Community, Emerging Tech, Ending Wildlife Trafficking Online, Ethics of Conservation Tech, Human-Wildlife Conflict, Open Source Solutions, Software and Mobile Apps, Wildlife Crime, Women in Conservation Tech Programme (WiCT) | 4 months 1 week ago | |
Will you accept personal/hobbyist focused on conservation on their small plots of land (10-100 acres)?I would, and know others, who would happily pay more than the official... |
|
Camera Traps, Climate Change, Community Base, Connectivity, Emerging Tech, Human-Wildlife Conflict, Sensors, Wildlife Crime | 5 months ago | |
Thank you Stefan! Will follow up with your email shortly. |
|
Acoustics, Emerging Tech, Ethics of Conservation Tech | 5 months ago | |
@JakeBurton and @HollyCormack have a first look at The Inventory, a WILDLABS project to build a dynamic, collaborative, wiki-inspired... |
|
Emerging Tech | 5 months 1 week ago | |
@TaliaSpeaker and @Fanni joined our last Variety Hour to talk us through the key trends and takeaways from this first global assessment... |
|
Emerging Tech, Community Base | 5 months 1 week ago | |
I always thought a tracker that attached like a slap bracelet would be sweet. |
|
Emerging Tech, Footprint Identification Technique (FIT), Sensors | 5 months 1 week ago | |
My suggestion would probably be a 3D printer and Solder Station with a stock of common components. With those two things you can solve most problems. |
|
Community Base, Emerging Tech, Marine Conservation, Protected Area Management Tools, Sensors | 5 months 3 weeks ago | |
Hi Emma, In your new project, if you have interest in a direct to satellite platform perspective, you can contact me on [email protected] Would be interested to see your outcomes... |
|
Emerging Tech, Ethics of Conservation Tech | 7 months 3 weeks ago | |
Makes sense if you have the cash... |
+8
|
Biologging, Climate Change, Sensors, Build Your Own Data Logger Community, Emerging Tech | 7 months 4 weeks ago | |
Have you tried or considered Garmin Inreach or Zoleo trackers?I have experience with Garmin Inreach in relatively rugged terrain in Greenland (probably not as steep as what you... |
|
Connectivity, Emerging Tech, Protected Area Management Tools | 8 months ago |
Data Logger Suggestions
31 January 2024 1:42pm
13 February 2024 4:29pm
Thank you for the help!
Computer Vision for Ecology Workshop 2025 Call for Applications
12 February 2024 9:29pm
Bio-Logging Science Symposium
9 February 2024 3:59pm
Rapid onsite DNA test identifies bushmeat at airport
6 February 2024 3:47pm
Passionate engineer offering funding and tech solutions pro-bono.
23 January 2024 12:06pm
26 January 2024 3:18pm
Hi Krasi! Greetings from Brazil!
That's a cool journey you've started! Congratulations. And I felt like theSearchLife resonates with the work I'm involved round here. In a nutshell, I live at the heart of the largest remaining of Atlantic forest in the planet - one of the most biodiverse biomes that exist. The subregion where I live is named after and bathed by the "Rio Sagrado" (Sacred River), a magnificent water body with a very rich cultural significance to the region (it has served as a safe zone for fleeing slaves). Well, the river and the entire bioregion is currently under the threat of a truly devastating railroad project which, to say the least is planned to cut through over 100 water springs!
In face of that the local community (myself included) has been mobilizing to raise awareness of the issue and hopefully stop this madness (fueled by strong international forces). One of the ways we've been fighting this is through the seeking of the recognition of the sacred river as an entity of legal rights, who can manifest itself in court, against such threats. And to illustrate what this would look like, I've been developing this AI (LLM) powered avatar for the river, which could maybe serve as its human-relatable voice. An existing prototype of such avatar is available here. It has been fine-tuned with over 20 scientific papers on the Sacred River watershed.
And right now myself and other are mobilizing to manifest the conditions/resources to develop a next version of the avatar, which would include remote sensing capacities so the avatar is directly connected to the river and can possibly write full scientific reports on its physical properties (i.e. water quality) and the surrounding biodiversity. In fact, myself and 3 other members of the WildLabs community have just applied to the WildLabs Grant program in order to accomplish that. Hopefully the results are positive.
Finally, it's worth mentioning that our mobilization around providing an expression medium for the river has been multimodal, including the creation of a shortfilm based on theatrical mobilizations we did during a fest dedicated to the river and its surrounding more-than-human communities. You can check that out here:
Let's chat if any of that catches your interest!
Cheers!
2 February 2024 1:22pm
Hi Danilo. you seem very passionate about this initiative which is a good start.
It is an interesting coincidence that I am starting another project for the coral reefs in the Philipines which also requires water analytics so I can probably work on both projects at the same time.
Let's that have a call and discuss, will send you a pm with my contact details
There is a tech glitch and I don't get email notifications from here.
Need advice - image management and tagging
12 January 2024 7:55pm
15 January 2024 8:47pm
Interesting, Iʻll give it a shot. Looks like this could save me some time.
Thanks for the explanation @wade!
24 January 2024 5:16pm
I have no familiarity with Lightroom, but the problem you describe seems like a pretty typical data storage and look up issue. This is the kind of problem that many software engineers deal with on a daily bases. In almost every circumstance this class of problem is solved using a database.
In fact, a potentially useful analysis is that the Lightroom database is not providing the feature set you need.
It seems likely that you are not looking for a software development project, and setting up you own DB would certainly require some effort, but if this is a serious issue for your work, you hope to scale your work up, or bring many other participants into your project, it might make sense to have an information system that better fits your needs.
There are many different databases out there optimized for different sorts of things. For this I might suggest taking a look at MongoDB with GridFS for a couple of reasons.
- It looks like you meta data is in JSON format. Many DBs are JSON compatible, but Mongo is JSON native. It is especially good at storing and retrieving JSON data. Its JSON search capabilities are excellent and easy to use. It looks like you could export your data directly from Lightroom into Mongo, so it might be pretty easy actually.
- Mongo with the GridFS package is an excellent repository for arbitrarily large image files.
- It is straightforward to make a Mongo database accessible via a website.
- They are open source (in a manner of speaking) and you can run it for free.
Disclaimer: I used to work for MongoDB. I don't anymore and I have no vested interest at all, but they make a great product that would really crush this whole class of problem.
25 January 2024 8:32am
Hi!
I would take a look at
Although developed for camera trap imagery, it is by no means restricted to such.
Cheers,
Lars
Ignite Labs: Space for Nature & Biodiversity Series
21 January 2024 2:46pm
New method for improving shape awareness in deep learning
11 January 2024 12:28am
Cutting edge plant conservation
9 January 2024 7:33am
9 January 2024 4:56pm
9 January 2024 7:10pm
Presentation opportunity: Text analysis for conservation (NACCB 2024)
8 January 2024 4:05pm
Apply to Beta test Instant Detect 2.0
11 May 2023 10:55am
21 December 2023 3:48am
Will you accept personal/hobbyist focused on conservation on their small plots of land (10-100 acres)?
I would, and know others, who would happily pay more than the official conservationists rate for the service, which could help to further subsidize the project. (Referring to your statement here: https://wildlabs.net/discussion/instant-detect-20-and-related-cost)
13th International Conference on Climate Informatics
18 December 2023 12:20pm
Call for Interview Subjects: Conservation Bioacoustics Methods
14 December 2023 8:47pm
15 December 2023 12:19pm
Happy to help Samuel, will send a message
15 December 2023 3:46pm
I'd love to!
16 December 2023 9:43am
Thank you Stefan! Will follow up with your email shortly.
Introducing the Inventory: The rise of the conservation tech wiki!
13 December 2023 5:51pm
Watch now - The State of Conservation Technology: 3 Year Trends
13 December 2023 5:25pm
Data Viz Inspo for the Holidays
11 December 2023 8:42pm
Autonomizing Small Mammal Traps
29 November 2023 6:26pm
1 December 2023 7:37pm
One thing to keep in mind is that researchers often want or at least would like to get certain metadata on the tagged animals like sex, size, weight, apperent fitness etc. Without these the questions you can ask can get rather limited. Also, it will also often be highly desired to take samples like blood, hair, other tissue e.g.
In addition, there can be cases where it may be better not to tag the animal if it is not the right age group, is too small to carry the tag, seems like it is not in a good shape etc.
I think it will take quite an effort to get automated systems (capture robots) to make these decisions to a degree you can trust.
Cheers,
Lars
9 December 2023 9:01pm
Thanks for the reply, Lars! I appreciate the input I am genuinely curious if there is a market for such a thing, all data is good data.
10 December 2023 2:30am
I always thought a tracker that attached like a slap bracelet would be sweet.
WILDLABS Awards 2024: Supporting accessible, affordable, and effective innovation for nature
1 December 2023 11:00am
Wishlist for kit in a field-based Research Station or tech testing space?
27 November 2023 10:41am
28 November 2023 3:25am
Regine Weckauf over on linkedin:
'Little to do with research and tech development, but given how hard it is to attract and retain experienced staff to field based positions, I know it makes a difference how nice the space is. Just because it's the "field", shouldn't mean staff living in basic conditions, regardless of how many times we've been told to see it as a badge of honor. If you have the money, put in nice bathrooms, kitchen, living spaces, and private accommodation. Maybe even a nursery? It creates more local employment opportunities and people genuinely want to visit.'
28 November 2023 2:25pm
Love the idea for in-house gear/supplies! It can be SOO difficult to travel with batteries, electronics parts with airline regs, country policies, etc. and shipping recorders/trail cams/etc. gets VERY (prohibitively) pricey in some countries with customs and taxes. Would be great to have an in-country place to source that kind of equipment.
Housing educational resources related to that tech (in the form of people, print materials, computer tutorials) in-house would be similarly awesome. Particularly/especially in local languages.
Having in-country wet labs as well helps the eDNA/genetics folks, since sample import/export permitting can be (always seems to be?!) a nightmare, so if you can even just do PCR and/or extractions in-country that helps a ton.
In terms of overall field-station-wishlist - honestly, just the promise of continued funding and staff. Every field station I've been to or worked at is in a constant search for enough money to get through the next month/year, because the funding comes in the establish a station but then not to maintain it long-term. It's not sexy for a wishlist per se, but boy is it over-looked and much-needed.
@hikinghack from Dinalab would probably have lots of good insights on this!
29 November 2023 7:59pm
My suggestion would probably be a 3D printer and Solder Station with a stock of common components. With those two things you can solve most problems.
Impact Shakers Accelerator
28 November 2023 5:08am
Atos and WWF partner up to leverage technology to support biodiversity conservation
27 November 2023 9:32am
Atos & the WWF announced a 3-year strategic partnership to leverage technology to support biodiversity conservation & encourage businesses to decarbonize. 1 of the 4 main initiatives of the partnership is: Atos to develop responsible IT solutions for WWF & its partners.
Tenure Track Scientists (Sensing, Robotics, Machine Learning) - AOPE, WHOI
27 November 2023 9:21am
ICOTEQ launch TAGRANGER® system of products
23 November 2023 1:25pm
AWMS Conference 2023
The State of Conservation Technology 2023: Five Key Findings
15 November 2023 9:20am
Insight; a secure online platform designed for sharing experiences of conservation tool use.
7 November 2023 1:01pm
A secure platform designed for those working to monitor & protect natural resources. Insight facilitates sharing experience, knowledge & tools to increase efficiency & effectiveness in conservation. By sharing we reduce time & money spent to find, test, & implement solutions.
10 February 2024 2:19am
Hi Andrea,
The OpenLog Artemis might be an option. I haven't used one of these yet, but its what I immediately thought of. Built in real time clock and IMU that records to microSD. It has four 14-bit ADCs and I2C connectors for the 'Qwiic' or 'grove' sensor boards. I'm not sure if it has programmable on/off cycles with the clock but you may find an existing project that does this.
SparkFun OpenLog Artemis
Description Features Documents We have stock of a new OpenLog Artemis (without IMU) available now! Notice: Supply chain constraints have made the on-board ICM-20948 IMU very difficult to source. That said, we have a new version of the OpenLog Artemis available now with the IMU removed. The SparkFun OpenLog Artemis is an open source data logger that comes preprogrammed to automatically log IMU, GPS, serial data, and various pressure, humidity, and distance sensors. All without writing a single line of code! OpenLog Artemis, or "OLA," automatically detects, configures, and logs Qwiic sensors. The OLA is specifically designed for users who just need to capture a lot of data to a CSV and get back to their larger project. Included on every OpenLog Artemis is an IMU for built-in logging of triple-axis accelerometer, gyro, and magnetometer. Whereas the original 9DOF Razor used the old MPU-9250, the OpenLog Artemis uses the latest ICM-20948 from InvenSense capable of nearly 250Hz logging of all nine axes. Simply power up the OpenLog Artemis and all incoming serial data is automatically recorded to a log file with baud rates up to 500000bps [1], supported! The OLA also has four ADC channels available on the edge of the board. Voltages up to 2V can be logged with 14-bit precision up to 1900Hz for one channel and 1000Hz logging all four channels. Additionally, based on feedback from users we've added an on-board RTC so that all data can be time stamped. The OpenLog Artemis is highly configurable over an easy to use serial interface. Simply plug in a USB-C cable and open a terminal at 115200bps. The logging output is automatically streamed to both the terminal and the microSD. Pressing any key will open the configuration menu. The OpenLog Artemis automatically scans, detects, configures, and logs various Qwiic sensors plugged into the board (No soldering! No programming!). Currently, auto-detection is supported on the following Qwiic products: Any u-Blox GPS Modules (Lat/Long, Altitude, Velocity, SIV, Time, Date) such as: ZED-F9P 1cm High Precision GPS NEO-M8P-2 2.5cm High Precision GPS SAM-M8Q 1.5m 72 Channel GPS ZOE-M8Q 1.5m Compact GPS NEO-M9N 1.5m GPS MAX-M10S 1.5m Ultra-Low Power GPS MCP9600 Thermocouple Amplifier NAU7802 Load Cell Amplifier LPS25HB Barometric Pressure Sensor BME280 Humidity and Barometric Pressure Sensor MS5637 Barometric Pressure Sensor MS5837 Depth and Pressure Sensor SDP31 Differential Pressure Sensor MS8607 Pressure Humidity Temperature Sensor MPR0025PA MicroPressure Sensor TMP117 High Precision Temperature Sensor AHT20 Humidity and Temperature Sensor SHTC3 Humidity and Temperature Sensor CCS811 Air Quality Sensor SGP30 Air Quality Sensor SGP40 Air Quality (VOC Index) Sensor SCD30 CO2 and Air Quality Sensor SN-GCJA5 Particle Sensor VEML6075 UV Sensor VCNL4040 Proximity Sensor VL53L1X LIDAR Distance Sensor ADS122C04 ADC PT100 Sensor Qwiic Mux allowing for the chaining of up to 64 unique buses! MAX30101 Pulse Oximeter and Heart Rate Sensor ISM330DHCX IMU MMC5983MA Magnetometer KX134 Accelerometer ADS1015 ADC LPS28DFW Barometer VEML7700 Ambient Light Sensor This OpenLog uses common microSD cards to record clear text, comma separated files. You probably already have a microSD card laying around but if you need any additional units see the related items below. The OpenLog Artemis supports microSD cards formatted as FAT32 as well as the older FAT16 formats up to 32GB. The OpenLog Artemis can use any size microSD card and, as of firmware version 1.11, supports exFAT cards in addition to FAT32. Very low power logging is supported. OpenLog Artemis can be configured to take readings at 500 times a second, or as slow as 1 reading every 24 hours. You choose! When there is more than 2 seconds between readings OLA will automatically power down itself and the sensors on the bus resulting in a sleep current of approximately 18uA. This means a normal 2Ah battery will enable logging for more than 4,000 days! OpenLog Artemis has built-in LiPo charging set at 450mA/hr. New features are constantly being added so we’ve released an easy to use firmware upgrade tool. No need to install Arduino or a bunch of libraries, simply open the Artemis Firmware Upload GUI, load the latest OLA firmware, and add features to OpenLog Artemis as they come out! The OLA can be tailored to many different applications and we will be releasing custom versions of the firmware which can be found on our Documents tab above. The SparkFun Qwiic Connect System is an ecosystem of I2C sensors, actuators, shields and cables that make prototyping faster and less prone to error. All Qwiic-enabled boards use a common 1mm pitch, 4-pin JST connector. This reduces the amount of required PCB space, and polarized connections mean you can’t hook it up wrong. Get Started with the SparkFun OpenLog Artemis Hookup Guide Artemis Module (Cortex-M4F based Apollo3 microcontroller) Configurable via CH340E and Artemis Firmware Upload GUI Operating voltage range 3.3V to 6.5V (via VIN with optional external power switch) 5V with USB (via 5V or USB type C) 3.6V to 4.2V with LiPo battery (via VBATT or 2-pin JST) Built-in MCP73831 single cell LiPo charger Minimum 450mA charge rate 3.3V (via 3V3) Current consumption ~20mA (Run) ~80µA (Sleep) ~18µA (Deep Sleep - regulator shut down) Ports 1x USB type C 1x LiPo battery enabled 1x Qwiic enabled I2C with power control 1x SWD 2x5 header 4x Analog-to-digital 14-bit, up to 1900Hz, 2V max (3.3V compatible) Serial Logging speeds up to 500000bps [1] 1x microSD socket Support for FAT32 and older FAT16 formats up to 32GB with power control RTC with 1mAhr battery backup 9-axis IMU logging up to 250Hz ICM-20948 via SPI interface LEDs Power LiPo charge indicator Serial Tx and Rx Status Schematic Eagle Files Hookup Guide Board Dimensions Datasheet (Apollo3) Datasheet (ICM-20948) Artemis Integration Guide Designing with the SparkFun Artemis Artemis Development with Arduino Arduino Core Artemis Forums Artemis Info Page Qwiic Info Page CH340E USB Drivers Artemis Firmware Uploader GUI Latest OLA firmware: v1.11 Geophone Logger firmware for logging seismic activity GNSS Logger for advanced data logging with the uBlox F9 and M9 GNSS modules including support for RAWX and RELPOSNED GitHub Hardware Repo
sparkfun