Sensors already equip a range of tools to enhance monitoring capacity for conservation. Some of the higher bandwidth technologies, like camera traps and acoustic monitoring systems, have been essential elements of the conservation toolkit for decades, and thus have enough users that we've created dedicated WILDLABS groups to address them. But a whole range of lower bandwidth sensors beyond these core technologies are being increasingly integrated into conservation monitoring systems, and offer rich new insights into the wildlife and ecosystems we're all working to protect. As with many technologies, cost and access have historically been challenges to the adoption of new sensors, but with low-cost and open-source solutions on the rise, we're excited to see what the future of this space holds.
Getting Started with Sensors:
- Watch Shah Selbe's Tech Tutors episode on scaling FieldKit, an open-source conservation sensor toolbox, from a project to a successful conservation tech product.
- Check out our Virtual Meetup about Low-Cost, Open-Source Solutions in conservation tech, including a talk by Alasdair Davies on the Arribada Initiative's work with thermal sensors in early warning systems.
- For a more in-depth introduction, watch the first video in our datalogger mini-series: Freaklabs: How do I get started with Arduino?
In this group, you'll meet others who are using and innovating diverse sensors in their work, discuss ways to make sensors more effective & accessible for conservationists, learn about what sensors are already helping us accomplish in the field, and have the opportunity to ask and answer questions. Join this group to get started!
Header image: Emma Vogel, University of Tromsø
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- @RHugtenburg
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Student at Aberystwyth University. Bug Fanatic🪲. Worked at Octophin Digital for my industrial year placement 🐙.
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Wildlife biologist, works with Caimans and Crocodiles
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International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN)
Key Biodiversity Areas Programme Officer, IUCN
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Simeone Consulting
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TechnoSmArt
I am an ornithologist, have been working with GPS tracking of both seabirds and terrestrial birds. I have been involved also in conservation projects in Italy, Chile and Ecuador
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Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
Postdoctoral researcher at Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
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The Earth Species Project (ESP) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to decoding animal communication and translating non-human language.
15 July 2022
“It’s such a massive leap forwards knowing where every rhino is every morning and every evening.” Fast Company writes about Smart Parks, a Netherlands-based organization with technological solutions against poaching.
14 July 2022
"To paraphrase Hemingway, the chip shortage hit FieldKit in two ways: gradually and then suddenly."
16 June 2022
Rainforest Connection has multiple engineering positions that will suppor their work developing acoustic monitoring devices.
16 June 2022
David Will, Head of Innovation @ Island Conservation & Charles Ferland, VP & GM of Edge Computing & Communication Service Providers @ Lenovo
13 June 2022
The African Robotics Unit is looking for a Postdoctoral Research Associate to join A/Prof. Amir Patel’s lab at UCT. The Postdoc will investigate how sensor fusion can be leveraged to understand the locomotion of...
1 June 2022
Are you good at designing and making new sensors? UCL is seeking a fabrication workshop manager to support research work related to robotics, ecology, disability design and innovation, sensor systems and data.
31 May 2022
In Season Four of the Virtual Meetup Series, we’re bringing together leading engineers, conservationists, and academics to explore the future of technology in movement ecology and ask where exactly investment is needed...
29 April 2022
Careers
The FieldKit team is now seeking a freelance Graphic Designer with a passion for conservation technology! If you'd like to use your skills to connect with a conservation technology community, please send a cover letter...
8 March 2022
In pursuit of saving the Monarch butterflies, Carlo Mondavi- pioneer of the Monarch challenge- was inspired to develop the world's first fully electric smart tractor tractor with co-founder and Chief Executive, Praveen...
29 November 2021
In this article, Swarm Technologies give a detailed analysis of the tradeoffs between the most common IoT connectivity solutions to improving food production, combating climate change, optimizing supply chains and many...
19 November 2021
GroupGets has a Group buy campaign for a μMoth v1.1(Round 2), that runs till Sat, 06 Nov 2021 12:55:00 PDT. The μMoth v1.1 goes for a Single-unit price of $99.99 + shipping.To join this buy, kindly visit this page
4 November 2021
February 2023
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Description | Activity | Replies | Groups | Updated |
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Although this article focuses on agriculture in Australia, a lot of the IoT principles that are being used can also possibly be used for... |
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Sensors | 5 years 1 month ago | |
Sounds great! |
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Sensors | 5 years 1 month ago | |
We've also put together a variation on the wireless datalogger. We've found it extremely useful for us in other projects, especially in developing countries without... |
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Sensors | 5 years 1 month ago | |
FYI: we included instructions in English: https://github.com/SensingClues/OpenEars |
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Sensors | 5 years 1 month ago | |
FYI, the open source camera trap part of this thread has moved here: https://www.wildlabs.net/community/thread/694 |
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Sensors | 5 years 2 months ago | |
The talk is really interesting and I agree that it's important to think about the bigger issues of the world and then use technology as just one of the tools to try and tackle... |
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Sensors | 5 years 2 months ago | |
Hi everyone. Excited to be part of this group especially since IoT can pretty much trace it's roots to wildlife monitoring. I've... |
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Sensors | 5 years 2 months ago | |
Will your startup be involved in sensor networks for conservation? I'm very interested. Currently we create sensor networks for developmental infrastructure and agriculture... |
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Sensors | 5 years 2 months ago | |
Hi everyone. I'm Akiba and I'm an engineer by trade specializing in wireless sensor networks and communications. I generally work with groups like World Bank on... |
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Sensors | 5 years 2 months ago | |
Subcutaneous pittags that also read temperature (frustratingly) read only a limited range of temperatures - however, I hear that can be... |
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Sensors | 5 years 3 months ago | |
Hi Ted, This is all very interesting. The solution you describe seems eminently doable and in fact quite cheap. So doable and cheap that it may behoove one to... |
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Sensors | 5 years 3 months ago | |
Yes, I agree it's a tough problem - i'm certainly stumped ;) but thanks so much for your reply and counter question - the goal is to find these gillnets and... |
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Sensors | 5 years 6 months ago |
A technologist's journey to protect wildlife: The reality and potential of conservation technology (recorded talk)
22 November 2018 12:00am
WILDLABS Virtual Meetup: Networked Sensors for Security and HWC Prevention
12 November 2018 12:00am
WILDLABS Virtual Meetup Recording: Next Generation Wildlife Tracking
12 November 2018 12:00am
Tusk Conservation Lecture 2018: Ted Schmitt
15 October 2018 12:00am
Underwater Robot Trained to Kill Coral-Destroying Reef Starfish
18 September 2018 12:00am
Next Generation Animal Tracking Ideation Challenge
14 September 2018 12:00am
Thermal imaging, drones, and sea turtles: a case study using FLIR’s new Duo Pro R camera
23 August 2018 12:00am
How to share data on species to help conserve them… whilst avoiding them being exploited by poachers
20 August 2018 12:00am
Ocean Hack: San Francisco, 10-11th September, 2018
20 August 2018 12:00am
Thermal Sensor Project Update: Testing with live animals at the San Diego Zoo
27 July 2018 12:00am
HWC Tech Challenge: Smart Electric Fence Solution
5 June 2018 12:00am
From drone swarms to tree batteries, new tech is revolutionising ecology and conservation
9 May 2018 12:00am
Eddy Expedition Log: Characterizing Eddies
23 April 2018 12:00am
HWC Tech Challenge: Thermopile Sensor Project
19 April 2018 12:00am
Eddy Expedition Log: Chasing Eddies
10 April 2018 12:00am
What technologies could help us monitor cave invertebrates?
23 July 2016 8:44am
9 April 2018 2:35am
Hi Tony, I'm leading a cross disciplinary group of researchers at Deakin University in Australia to build new technology for monitoring wildlife and engage citizen scientists with collecting data.
We have designed a video trap for monitoring reptiles and amphibians, that uses constant video and has some on-board AI to not save video with nothing in it. Works day and night (UV illumination at night), but uses a lot of power so we have a battery and solar panel arrangement. I expect this could be easily adapted to monitor cave fauna. Let me know if you already have a solution or want to discuss idea further.
Don Driscoll
Thermal imaging scopes
26 March 2018 9:26pm
27 March 2018 2:20pm
Hi Luke,
I'll leave specific recommendations to others who are better qualified ( @Eric+Becker @Rachel+Kramer or @Alasdair - maybe you can advise?) but I did come across something yesterday that may be relevant.
There is a live GroupGets campaign on at the moment (2 days left) for DIY-theromocam kits - not a scope but could do the trick if your budget is restricted as it's under $300 and you're willing to dabble in DIY?
The DIY-Thermocam is a do-it-yourself infrared camera, based on the FLIR Lepton long-wave infrared sensor and the popular Teensy 3.6 ARM Cortex M4 MCU.
The aim of this project is to give private persons, educational institutes and companies access to a portable, affordable and customizable thermal imaging plattform.
There are various applications like finding heat leaks in the insulation of buildings, the analysis of electrical or mechanical components, the detection of persons / animals or even mounting it on a drone, together with the additional video out module.
Constructed as a self-assembly solution, the DIY-Thermocam allows you to take advantage of the versatile possibilities of thermal imaging and to save money at one go.
Everything, from software to hardware, is completely open-source. This allows everyone to modify or extend the functionalities of the device to their own needs.
GroupGets does now offer a complete self-assembly kit, so you don't have to worry about buying all the parts on your own.
A scientific paper is also available, giving an overview about the whole project and its capabilities.
Update: haraldg has written a nice set of tools for post-processing the thermal raw data files. Check it out here. He also published a short article about manual calibration here.
3 April 2018 3:39pm
Hi @Luke_edwards - I just had a chat with my colleagues @Eric+Becker and @ColbyLoucks at WWF who will get back to you with some recommendations from experience with the thermal scopes that we've explored for anti-poaching (FLIR TK and SCOUT III).
Great to see that you're pairing conservation dogs and thermal imaging for wildlife surveys in Australia. In order to select the most cost-effective thermal imaging scope for your needs, it's important to know the range that you require, density of vegetation and size of the species you are monitoring. Can you share a bit more information on your parameters?
3 April 2018 11:03pm
The current project is in open plains. From a handler perspective the distance will be from 20m -100m. I will be working at night so it will be looking for me target, the Plains Wanderer, a small bird. Also it would be used to see other native and domestic animals in the area.
Other projects range from open plains through to rain forests.
The Plant-Powered Camera Trap Challenge
3 April 2018 12:00am
Eddy Expedition Log: Setting Off to Explore Eddies
3 April 2018 12:00am
Hacking together DIY time-lapse soil cameras
29 March 2018 11:35am
#Tech4Wildlife Photo Challenge 2018: Our Top 10
3 March 2018 12:00am
Landsense Innovation Challenge
19 February 2018 12:00am
Technology Empowered Conservation Lecture Series
18 January 2018 12:00am
Instant Detect 2.0: A Connected Future for Conservation
17 January 2018 12:00am
Congratulations to Zoohackathon winners, team ODINN!
6 December 2017 12:00am
FIT Cheetahs
4 December 2017 12:00am
How The San Diego Zoo Is Using AI And Drones To Save Polar Bears
30 November 2017 12:00am
RaspberryPI
5 March 2016 7:35am
20 May 2016 11:10pm
Pi Zero get a little upgrade... Anyone need a camera trap?
http://petapixel.com/2016/05/19/5-raspberry-pi-zero-now-camera-compatible/
11 October 2017 10:09am
Hi All,
just sharing this for all those Raspberry Pi beginners like me, 91% off a training bundle
https://deals.thenextweb.com/sales/complete-raspberry-pi-3-2
2 November 2017 6:02pm
Also if you are still looking for a solution this was published earlier this year and gives recommendations for soundscape microphones : http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/2041-210X.12678/full
HWC Tech Challenge Winners Announced
1 November 2017 12:00am
HWC Tech Challenge Update: Meet the Judges
20 October 2017 12:00am
31 March 2023 2:15pm