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Open Source Solutions / Feed

This group is a place to share low-cost, open-source devices for conservation; describe how they are being used, including what needs they are addressing and how they fit in to the wider conservation tech market; identify the obstacles in advancing the capacity of these technologies; and to discuss the future of these solutions - particularly their sustainability and how best to collaborate moving forward.

discussion

Software to aid acoustic sound files visualization/labelling + Software to syncronize video/acoustic sonograms

Hi everybody!I am currently trying to figure out if there is any open-source software that could improve our citizen science project on bat monitoring in Europe (and potentially...

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I would also recommend Arbimon. It is well set up to handle Audiomoth recordings. Being cloud based, you will need a good internet connection for sound file upload. I'm just starting to investigate its use for Song Scope recordings. Setting up the call recognisers will be a slow process, but they can be made available to all users once done.

You could try using a video editor like DaVinci for looking at your video and audio together. I don't think DaVinci displays sonograms by default (just waveform) but I think it will open your selected audio in an external editor which would allow you to see the sonograms and make measurements with something like Audacity or Kaleidoscope.

The open-source program Audacity can show the spectrograms and histograms and has quite a lot of other useful features, e.g. playing ultrasound calls slower, so it can be heard by people. 

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discussion

Conservation Tech Directory - new update!

New directory update from @gracieermi & I! And an extra special one as we've just passed our 1-year anniversary! Super exciting to see how far this has come! Check it out:...

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Congrats on the milestone Carly and Gracie!

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Link

How To Use An Arduino – Beginners Guide

For anyone interested in WILDLABS' Build Your Own Data Logger course, this beginner's guide to Arduino may be a valuable resource! This page also includes links to other relevant resources on Arduino language and getting started with Arduino software for the first time.

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careers

Conservation Technology Research Internship

Boost cons tech capacity at an international NGO! Fauna & Flora International is offering a paid three-month internship to consolidate and share best practices for the application of emerging hardware and software...

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article

CERES TAG

Ceres Tag sends just in time alerts and GPS location to have the power to track and trace.

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discussion

How can open source tools make conservation tech more sustainable and accessible?

Open source tools help our community think of creative solutions, share resources, and make conservation tech tools more affordable and accessible for everyone. All of that means...

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I've been working with a current visiting scholar who's from China and has been interested in getting started with some acoustic monitoring studies when he goes back to China later this year. I've been working with him to try to figure out some options (with some help from folks met through Wildlabs!) but the name-brand stuff from Wildlife Acoustics is more than double what it would be in the states once customs and imports and exchange rates are taken into account. Open-source solutions that can be manufactured on the ground in countries where we're trying to do work can avoid many of those costs, support local economies, and even be good for the environment to the extent that you're avoiding the (minimal but non-zero) emissions of shipping stuff all over the place.

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discussion

Self-powered Buoy collecting vital sensor data -- Looking for conservation projects to collaborate with

Hey all! I work for a company called Sofar Ocean Technologies that is doing really cool work in the ocean conservation world and I'm interested in getting them to collaborate more...

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Hello Aadithya,

Excited to hear about your marine acoustics outreach. I am interested to explore the possibilities of collaborative work on this line.

One of my doctoral scholars is about to submit his thesis on terrestrial acoustic studies. Please respond to [email protected] (as I may likely miss responses if any, send to this group). 

Regards

Jaishanker

Hi Jaishanker, I just reached out to over email, apologies for the delay. We are interested in working with underwater hydrophones and this might be of use in your specific case study. Bristlemouth's timeline is still being created, but we're hoping to have devkits ready closer to the end of this year. I'm happy to chat more to learn about the specific research you are doing and how we can best help!

If you're looking to identify collaborators - probably lots of organizations listed in the Conservation Tech Directory would be interested (quick prelim search yields orgs like Echospace, European Tracking Network, FACT network, IMOS, IOOS, other tracking networks like that, USA's NEON, eOceans, Oceans+)! Also org's like Blue Ventures, Save our Seas (run acoustic tracking array), MBON (run Biotrack) come to mind. 

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discussion

Apply to the 2022 GOSH Gathering in Panamá!

The Gathering for Open Science Hardware (GOSH) community is excited to announce that applications to attend the 2022 GOSH Gathering are now open! The Gathering will be held at...

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There are only a few days left to apply to the 2022 Gathering for Open Science Hardware! Join a community of scientists, hardware developers, artists, and activists working together on open hardware for science!

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article

Deep Learning for Marine Ecology and Conservation

arXiv (Journal)
This article provides a review of deep learning (predominantly ML) used in marine ecology and considerations for its future directions in conservation. In plain language, the authors provide a methodology for training...

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article

Identification of Wildlife in Camera Trap Images

MDPI (Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute - Journal)
Camera trap wildlife surveys can generate vast amounts of imagery. A key problem in the wildlife ecology field is that vast amounts of time is spent reviewing this imagery to identify the species detected. Valuable...

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event

How do I get started with OpenCollar Edge Trackers?

Tim van Dam
In this Tech Tutors episode, Tim van Dam, answers the question, How do I get started with OpenCollar Edge Trackers? In this episode, Tim will introduce the OpenCollar edge trackers and give a live demo of how the new...

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event

How do I turn a conservation tech project into a product?

Shah Selbe
In this Tech Tutors episode, Shah Selbe answered the question, How do I turn a conservation tech project into a product? In this episode, he discusses how to scale an innovative conservation tech project into a product...

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discussion

What would an open source conservation technology toolkit look like?

Hi. We've had a nice discussion about this topic in a different thread and I wanted to break it out into a separate discussion thread. For context, here is the previous...

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Hi Akiba, [not sure if I'm on the right thread]

The Open-Source Tech Toolkit would need a repository for designs & specifcations. Regarding the latter, I'm a Technical Editor for a specification company. The format we use for the architecture & construction industry is suitable for any discipline [e.g. teaching students how to write a spec using our format/proforma they're given a task to write "how to tie their shoe laces"].

A specification defines qualities & standards (e.g. ISO, IEC). Drawings illustrate locations & quantity. Drawings are normally referenced back to the specification clauses.

I'd like to write an example of a specification for the Wildlogger, which will cover the many options for sensors, including references to approved/tested sensors and [if necessary] how they should be calibrated.

Looking over the horizon, what is the best repository for such Toolkit drawings and specifications?

If demand was large enough, and funding available, the company I work for could host the specifications and I'd maintain them full-time: There would be many advantages using our database over MS Word-based system.

 

Best Regards,

Nigel 

  

 

Hi Nigel. 
That's a very kind offer. I think currently github is the main repository I use for those kinds of documents. I like your idea and it'd be great to expand WildLogger out to a full featured data logger. The original intent of the design was as an educational tool to learn the programming concepts, but I didn't expect that people would deploy them in actual scientific applications. It's really cool. 

As for specs and hosting, I'd actually prefer to keep them on github which is a popular platform and gets around the funding side of things. I've dealt with formal software specs and requirements in a previous corporate life but I think the scope of many of the projects we are undertaking is small enough that formal specs might not be needed. For the scale you're thinking, you might want to discuss with the Society for Conservation Biology or the larger organizations that are trying to plan out a roadmap for conservation biology. 

Akiba

Hi Akiba,

Just found out from the marketing dept at my work the cost to host multiple specs - very expensive [$NZ 7K-10K].

Host it on GitHub for starters then. I'm a newbie to GitHub, so it's an opportunity to become familiar with it.

I'll begin by drafting a specification for the the Wildlogger with various peripherals/sensors other groups are testing for different scientific applications. It would be a standalone document in MS Word with hyperlinks to other docs, electronics suppliers, methodologies e.g. for calibrating sensors etc.

The doc will evolve over time, no doubt inform future development for the Wildlogger, possibly resulting in new variants. Knowledge won't be lost in the ether.

Nigel

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discussion

Volunteer 3D Design Work (Simple) for Your Open Source Project!

Hi Wildlabbers! I've been working on some mentally stressfull 3D modelling this month that's got a whole bunch of parameters and math going on. While I'm in "...

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Amazingly nice offer! Thanks! 

I know how projects can sometimes be stressful. I had a bit of that feeling lately when having to figure out how to code a trap alarm my boss let me spend a lot of money for materials for.

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event

Event: 2021 Open Hardware Summit

Akiba
Join Akiba and Jacinta from WILDLABS' Build Your Own Data Logger course at the virtual 2021 Open Hardware Summit on April 9th!  In their presentation, Akiba and Jacinta will discuss how sharing community knowledge can...

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discussion

Data standards: How can WILDLABS support?

Hi Wildlabbers WILDLABS has been thinking about data standards practices recently and I wanted to throw a couple questions out to our community: 1) What...

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As someone who has practiced in information technology standards groups and actively worked on data schema standards to facilitate data sharing and even legally valid business transactions (https://www.oasis-open.org/committees/download.php/31222/ENML-1.0-Specification.pdf), my experience indicates it is important that you do the following:

1) Create a small workgroup of the right stakeholders who are committed to the process and results;

2) Pick a schema definition language - JSON or XML - to create the standard (JSON is the flavor of the day, but it is possible to do both with the right commitment);

3) Get people trained on the methodology and grammar for creating the schema;

4) Build the right semantic model up to a level of detail that is feasible for implementation within one year - if you go deeper than that the people who need to get things done in the field will move on while the workgroup will still be arguing details;

5) Build the schema; and

6) Build at least reference tools and applications in at least 2 different programming languages that show the model and schema working.

Without this process, it will be easy to miss the forest by getting lost in the trees (apologies for that).

Arshad

I don't know that it would be possible to create one scheme across all fields and collection tools. I'm involved in a project trying to define shared data standards with 10 private companies in one sector and that's a multi-year discussion. KDEs for seafood traceability (not even a full schema) took 5 years. If by standards you mean general agreements in principles, then maybe working with the ODI would be a good approach (see the work they did on engineering). if you want to get to schemas, maybe check with Matt Jones at NCEAS, bc data science for ecology is his career's work.

Hi skatewing,

I'm not a domain expert like most people in this forum, but I have created XML schemas using object oriented (OO) principles in the past; the same capability exists with JSON schemas.

The important thing is to create a heirarchy of schemas, starting with a generalized schema definition that applies to all participants at the upper layer, and inherit that schema as one starts diving deeper. This permits specialized schemas at lower layers that meets the needs of smaller groups, but as one moves up the schema hierarchy, one finds common parent objects that can be shared with other groups.

If it is impossible to create it in a hierarchy for all group participants, it is possible to start with a smaller general schema that meets everyone's needs and then each specialized group can create independent hierarchies, which can then be linked as necessary (https://json-schema.org/learn/getting-started-step-by-step.html#references)

This capability of inheriting parent schemas, and linking to external schemas, allows simultaneous - yet separate - development by many groups without having to involve everyone all the time. You do need to bring together many people for a short while for the more general parts of the schema at higher levels; but once defined, it can segment out to smaller groups as specialized schema branches/hierarchies are defined.

Arshad

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