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
Tech for Conservation
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I am a ecologist and conservationist particularly excited about tech to aid biodiversity monitoring with a growing interest in analytics and AI. I am also a Project Manager at Rainforest Connection.
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- @cappel
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University of the West of England
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- @dhruv
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Ol Pejeta Conservancy
IT Engineer at The Conservation Tech Lab in Ol Pejeta Conservancy. |Endeavoring to implement tech solutions for conservation.
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Entrepreneur building AI-driven acoustic monitoring technology for comprehensive wildlife conservation, protection and ecosystem health monitoring.
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- @kimgavin
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Queensland University of Technology (QUT)
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- @EllieW
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- @ZestyResolution
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WildLabs will soon launch a 'Funding and Finance' group. What would be your wish list for such a group? Would you be interested in co-managing or otherwise helping out?
5 June 2024
Now accepting applications for two $15,000 grants to help protect wildlife through cutting-edge, technology-driven efforts
3 June 2024
Do you have photos and videos of your conservation tech work? We want to include them in a conservation technology showcase video
17 May 2024
Article
Read in detail about how to use The Inventory, our new living directory of conservation technology tools, organisations, and R&D projects.
1 May 2024
Article
The Inventory is your one-stop shop for conservation technology tools, organisations, and R&D projects. Start contributing to it now!
1 May 2024
Technology to End the Sixth Mass Extinction. Salary: $132 - $160k; Location: Seattle WA; 7+ years of experience in hardware product development and manufacturing; View post for full job description
1 May 2024
The Smithsonian National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute is seeking a Postdoctoral Research Fellow to help us integrate movement data & camera trap data with global conservation policy.
22 April 2024
In a recent publication we tested Underwater Passive Acoustic Monitoring (UPAM) as a feasible non-invasive technique to study the calling behavior of therathened aquatic Andean frogs under natural conditions in the...
6 April 2024
Article
You’re invited to the WILDLABS Variety Hour, a monthly event that connects you to conservation tech's most exciting projects, research, and ideas. We can't wait to bring you a whole new season of speakers and...
22 March 2024
This funding opportunity is to support projects to enhance existing, high TRL (7-9) marine biogeochemical sensors and integrate with National Marine Equipment Pool’s autonomous underwater platforms. You must be based...
11 March 2024
The IQOE Task Team on Low-Cost Hydrophones for Research, Education, and Citizen Science is looking for industry partners to develop a low-cost hydrophone.
15 December 2023
Funding
With $60,000, $30,000, and $10,000 grants available for 14 outstanding projects, the support of engineering and technology talent from Arm (the leading semiconductor design company), and access to the world’s biggest...
1 December 2023
February 2023
January 2023
12 Products
Recently updated products
101 Products
1 R&D Projects
69 Organisations
Recently updated products
Recently updated R&D Projects
Recently updated organisations
Description | Activity | Replies | Groups | Updated |
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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... |
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Sensors | 6 years 2 months ago | |
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... |
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Sensors | 6 years 2 months ago | |
@hikinghack used twitter to flag a thread on hackteria that members of this group might be interested in about DIY time-lapse soil... |
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Sensors | 6 years 2 months ago | |
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... |
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Sensors | 6 years 7 months ago | |
If anything belongs in the 'have you seen this' group, it's this project: Researchers at Binghamton University have created... |
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Sensors | 6 years 8 months ago | |
The University of Washington is reporting that they've shattered the long-range communications barrier for devices that consume almost... |
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Sensors | 6 years 8 months ago | |
My own experience is with the FLIR iphone attachment, just informal testing, but hasn't been that great at finding animals. I also think it would work better in the... |
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Sensors | 6 years 9 months ago | |
The European Space Agency have an exciting funding opportunity coming up and got in touch with us to ask that we share it with you,... |
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Sensors | 6 years 11 months ago | |
Hi Steph Sure - we'll have the projects confirmed by 30 June and I can highlight ones that might be of interest! Jenny |
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Sensors | 6 years 11 months ago | |
For those interested: in the acoustics channel I have posted news on our sound event recognition sensor, using conv-net: https://... |
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Sensors | 7 years 1 month ago | |
Hi Thomas We are mapping a very small area in real time. The data rate is controlled by the time it take to read all the DS18B20s. The logger I use in the Octogons is using... |
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Sensors | 7 years 2 months ago | |
For good measure, here's some cave survey porn of Hang Son Doong cave in China. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOH4gbW18Ts |
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Sensors | 7 years 3 months ago |
HWC Tech Challenge Update: Meet the Judges
20 October 2017 12:00am
Download New Conservation Tech Guidelines: Camera Traps, Acoustics and LiDAR
11 October 2017 12:00am
Kids, Drones & Science At The Water’s Edge
4 October 2017 12:00am
Saliva-powered paper battery
26 September 2017 2:55pm
How to lose a BRUV in 10 days
26 September 2017 12:00am
DAS: A Scaleable Solution For Protected Area Management
26 September 2017 12:00am
Elephant's Banquet
19 September 2017 12:00am
IoT breakthrough - applications for wildlife conservation?
15 September 2017 3:10pm
Thermal cameras and wildlife
26 July 2017 6:51pm
21 August 2017 12:17pm
Abstract here from the IMC Congress in Perth, they found the higher-res versions are much better than the less expensive (e.g. iphone) versions when it comes to finding animals.
Now you see me: How thermal imaging increases detection of cryptic nocturnal mammals in tropical regions
Avril Underwood1 , Mia Dehre-Miller2 1. James Cook University, Smithfield, Queensland, Australia 2.
University of Lancaster, Lancaster, United Kingdom Accurate measures of species abundance and distribution underpin effective wildlife management and conservation strategies. Obtaining these data is very challenging when researching the cryptic nocturnal arboreal mammals of in the dense forest of the Wet Tropics. Our research shows that using a hand-held thermal imager significantly increases the detection rate of all mid-sized arboreal mammals when compared to the most commonly used method of spotlighting. We determine the optimal environmental and mechanical parameters for thermal imaging, and we investigate ‘cost-versus-result’ of hand-held imaging devices currently available on the market. We suggest that hand-held thermal imaging is a great emerging technology for cryptic arboreal mammal detection across tropical forested regions and beyond.
21 August 2017 12:20pm
My own experience is with the FLIR iphone attachment, just informal testing, but hasn't been that great at finding animals. I also think it would work better in the early AM. In the evening there can still be a lot of rocks and trees still warm from the sun.
Funding Opportunity: Leverage space technology for wildlife protection
6 July 2017 12:56pm
Leverage Space Technology for Wildlife Protection with the European Space Agency Kick-start Grant
5 July 2017 12:00am
Trialing Audiomoth to detect the hidden threats under the canopies of Belize
27 June 2017 12:00am
Biomaker Challenge - up to £1000 support for prototyping sensors and instrumentation related to biology
19 June 2017 3:46pm
19 June 2017 3:51pm
Hey Jenny,
Thanks for sharing this, looks really interesting! In addition to WILDLABS members potentially getting involved, it'd be great to hear about some of the projects that get developed through the challenge. It looks like they're all going to be shared openly on github! Perhaps you could highlight or direct folks here to any as they emerge that you think might be particularly relevant?
Steph
19 June 2017 4:03pm
Hi Steph
Sure - we'll have the projects confirmed by 30 June and I can highlight ones that might be of interest!
Jenny
From the Field: Eric Becker and designing sensors for wildlife
22 May 2017 12:00am
acoustics for Human-Wildlife Conflict Prevention, Anti-poaching, and more
27 April 2017 6:43pm
From the Field: Dr Raman Sukumar and Technology Developments Needed to Conserve Elephants
5 April 2017 12:00am
Lasers in the Jungle Somewhere: How Airborne LiDAR Reveals the Structure of Forests
4 April 2017 12:00am
Heat Maps
2 March 2016 3:18pm
31 March 2017 10:45am
Hi @AdamBloch
I'd like to know more about your setup. I'm monitoring temperatures on a nature reserve using an array of 100 iButton Thermocron temperature sensors. I'm interested in what the benefits of using Arduino and Raspberry Pi might be. I need to collect my sensors in and read through a USB device. Then there's the interpolation and plotting of the data, and I'm particularly interested in how you are filtering and querying your data i.e. 'selectable [time?] range'.
Thanks
31 March 2017 9:49pm
Hi Thomas
We are mapping a very small area in real time. The data rate is controlled by the time it take to read all the DS18B20s. The logger I use in the Octogons is using about 90 sensors and refreshes about every 5 to 15 seconds. The data is store as a CSV in series of files.
Best thing to do is drop me a PM and your number.
Many thanks
Adam
15 Risks and Opportunities for Global Conservation
31 March 2017 12:00am
From the Field: Paul Millhouser and tracking migrating kestrels with low cost, light based geolocators
29 March 2017 12:00am
The Noise Egg: Testing the Effects of Underwater Noise on Aquatic Animals
27 March 2017 12:00am
From the Field: María José Bolgeri and tech to alleviate Puma-Human conflict
22 March 2017 12:00am
Photogrammetry: mapping caves and other environments
19 January 2017 11:46am
8 March 2017 1:49pm
Hi Ollie,
You can do the photogrammetry without a drone. You just need a tripod and a camera. The drone is useful because it can move to locations automatically ensuring that you have correct overlap but in caves you obviously will not have the GPS signal you need for most off the shelf units to navigate.
Thom mentioned to me a device called a Zebedee, which should do what you are hoping for. I don't know anyone who has one though and I'm afraid I don't have a LiDAR unit to lend.
Tom
8 March 2017 1:54pm
A colleague showed me this last week - laser scanning in Nottingham's 'caves' - scroll down and check out the video.
http://tparchaeology.co.uk/caves/caveswebsite/index.htm
8 March 2017 2:03pm
For good measure, here's some cave survey porn of Hang Son Doong cave in China.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOH4gbW18Ts
#Tech4Wildlife Photo Challenge: Our favourites from 2016
1 March 2017 12:00am
A hive of activity – CAD designers are crafting an open future for bees
20 December 2016 12:00am
Conservation Leadership Programme 2017 Award
21 November 2016 12:00am
5 Smart Technologies That Will Crack Down On Wildlife Trafficking
14 November 2016 12:00am
Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act grants via USFWS
8 November 2016 12:00am
How do Wildlife Crime Experts view Remote Sensing Technologies used to Combat Illegal Wildlife Crime?
7 November 2016 12:00am
Using GoPro cameras? Why not get sponsored by them?
29 December 2015 9:40pm
31 October 2016 2:47pm
Sport, Music, Event, Film/Photo are the only options I see on that link - nothing for conservation research.
1 November 2016 1:09pm
All of it can be applied to conservation though!
1 November 2016 1:45pm
I am not suggesting that GoPro cameras do not have applications in conservation, but if you follow the link you posted you will find questions being asked that a conservation project will be unable to answer.
26 July 2017 8:33pm
Oh, cool! It'd be interesting seeing if it could be used for tracking as well. I've used some handheld cameras and looked at footprints, but those disappeared pretty quickly.