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Software and Mobile Apps / Feed

The software and apps used and built by the conservation tech community are as varied as the species and habitats we work to protect. From fighting wildlife crime to collecting and analyzing data to engaging the general public with unique storytelling, apps, software, and mobile games are playing an increasingly large role in our work. Whether you're already well-versed in the world of software, or you're a hardware expert looking for guidance from the other side of the conservation tech field, this group will have interesting discussions, resources, and ideas to offer.

discussion

Call for ideas & feedback

sjc07

2 January 2019 5:24pm

Hi forum, I am writing to ask the group what are the most pressing challenges they have that could potentially be solved by technology. I am a technologist, but also have...

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Sean McCormack

7 February 2019 12:45am

It certainly is. Whatever gets the job done and makes it easier for us to find the animals and prosecute the poachers. Also interested in thermal-imaging hardware and perhaps radar. I'm new to them all.

Joachim Neff

11 February 2019 9:57pm

Hello Sean
If you want to get hands-on with thermal imaging hardware then you may be interested to know that this type of technology has dramatically reduced in price in recent years. IR cameras used to costs thousands (€, £, $) but can now be had for around US$500. See here for the FLIR C2: https://www.flir.com/products/c2/

I bought one of these a couple of years ago for building inspections etc. I would expect it to show very clearly any captured animals as long as they are alive. Having said that, you need ideally a good difference in temperature between object of interest and surrounding area. From my time in Taiwan I would expect that for some part of the year you won't get much contrast. Worth trying anyway. This would, of course, be a rather manual solution to finding captured animals.

In theory, you would be able to pick up metal objects with this, too, even if they are at the same temperature as their surroundings. Bare metals (i.e. not covered in something like paint) have a very different "thermal signature" (technically known as "emissivity") from many other materials. This means they usually appear much cooler in a thermal image than they actually are. The reason you are unlikely to pick this up with a basic IR camera is quite simply the low resolution of such cameras. The FLIR C2 has 60x80 pixels. Much more expensive cameras are better on this point but you would still have to watch very carefully to pick up a thin wire that would only be a few pixel wide at the most.

It may be worthwhile getting in touch with FLIR directly to see what ideas they have. I would not be surprised if they have a base in Taiwan.

Good luck,
Joachim

Joachim Neff

11 February 2019 10:27pm

Hello Sean
I just had another thought: industrial machine vision systems come with all sorts of image inspection tools including such things as "edge detection". I wonder if this could be used in conjunction with a normal (not thermal) high resolution digital camera.

The general idea would be to:
1. take photos whilst on the move through a snare-infested area where a high res camera would be able to pick up a thin wire loop with sufficient resolution to make it visible;
2. let attached computer with vision software analyse images instantly for straight or looped edges that would indicate a snare.

What could help considerably is to take pictures in subdued natural light, maybe at dusk or dawn using a strong flash, possibly not just the built in flash of the camera but an external one. On the assumption that most snares are made from plain "shiny" metal, they should show up fairly well as "bright highlights" against the otherwise fairly dull (in terms of specular reflection) undergrowth. It would get more difficult though if the foilage was covered in water droplets as these would reflect the flash light, too.

I admit this is an idea that just sprung to mind and I have no idea how well this may work in practice. If you want to have a go yourself, set up a typical "snare scenario" and take some high resolution photos as described above from a few metres away. Then use free vision system software to process the images on your computer and see what you can find. Try this one, for example, https://www.teledynedalsa.com/en/products/imaging/vision-software/sherlock/

I have used it some years ago (for an industrial application) and found it very useful on early trials as it allows you to use all features processing images from a local folder rather than a live camera. This would be all you need to test whether there is any merit in this.

Sorry if industrial vision applications are not within your skill set but I thought I mention it here in case someone else wants to investigate it. I am not exactly twiddling thumbs otherwise I would be seriously tempted to have a look at this myself (pun intended:)).

Let me know if you need some more input on this,
Joachim

P.S.: A rough calculation on camera resolution:
- snare wire diameter is, say, 3 mm
- target size in image of the wire is at least 6 pixels (to reliably show diagonal edges)
- 20 Megapixel camera image is about 5000 pixel wide
- then you could cover an area 2.5 m wide per image (5000 / 6 * 3)
> this may be a workable distance to cover per image.
 

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discussion

How to help

rosspatman

22 November 2018 3:52pm

Hello everybody, I am a technologist, specialising in apps/web/backend/startups, and I feel an ever-growing duty to use those skills for animal conservation; particularly...

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Rosemary Hitchens

27 November 2018 2:51am

Hi Ross,

Let's connect - I am a social scientist that has been researching demand reduction and am working on some projects, including a website, that helps consumers avoid illegal "unsafe" souvenirs. I have a few ideas floating around in my head that would take someone more tech-savvy than me to know if feasible - maybe we can exchange thoughts via email. I'd love to hear more about your ideas to reduce demand!) Feel free to email me at [email protected]. 

Best, Rosemary

Vance Russell

29 November 2018 2:31pm

Hi Ross,

We are developing a web-based platform with multiple tools to analyse biodiversity quality, habitat assessement management and other apps. We need some help thinking how to monetise the apps/subscriptions as well as further developing the platform. You can email me here: [email protected] if interested. Thanks.

Kind regards,

Vance

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event

WILDLABS Virtual Meetup: Big Data in Conservation

WILDLABS Team

27 November 2018 12:00am

The third and final event in Season One of the WILDLABS Virtual Meetup Series was on Big Data in Conservation. The recording is now available to watch, along with notes that highlight the key takeaways from the talks...

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discussion

Project BEESWAX7 Infographic

Andrew Lewis MSc FLS

13 November 2018 2:27pm

Hi, To give you the "heads-up" on our Project BEESWAX7, herewith attached is a copy of our project Inforgraphic which describes the concept. I hope you like it. Tally...

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Ben Tregenna

26 November 2018 9:10am

Love it! Covers so many of my interests - conservation, beekeeping and fiddling with Arduinos - would love to know more about the project.

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discussion

Live discussion on intersection of conservation and games

Gautam Shah

14 November 2018 1:22pm

Hi all We're conducting a live interview with Brooke Tully on the intersection of games and conservation as part of her "Innovations in Conservation" series....

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Stephanie O'Donnell

23 November 2018 3:14pm

Hey Gautum,  
Looks like the interview went really well! If people weren't able to make it, Gautam's interview along iwth others in the series are all available to watch here. 

Steph

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discussion

Mobile App Comparison Table

Shannon Anstee

14 August 2018 5:12pm

Hi All, I am currently working with the BirdLife Forestry department in order to develop a capacity building reference document that summarises different data collection and...

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Colin Cook

19 September 2018 11:25pm

Some other data collection apps.

https://www.proofsafe.com.au/

https://five.epicollect.net/

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event

Tusk Conservation Lecture 2018: Ted Schmitt

Tusk

15 October 2018 12:00am

Tusk are delighted to announce that their Tusk Conservation Lecture 2018 speaker will be Ted Schmitt of Vulcan Inc, Paul G Allen Philanthropies. He will speak about advancing Innovation in conservation, a talk that will...

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event

Ocean Hack: San Francisco, 10-11th September, 2018

One Ocean Collab

20 August 2018 12:00am

A 48 hr pop up innovation lab for the ocean, bringing together a mix of designers, strategists, technologists, engineers, scientists, marine conservationists, educators, artists and buisness talent to co-create...

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discussion

Wildlife monitoring using Smart-Cities tech

Andrew Lewis MSc FLS

14 June 2018 10:49am

Hi, here at Project BEESWAX7 (www.facebook.com/ProjectBeeswax) we are investigating the feasibility and use of small sensors and Smart-Cities technology to count...

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Andrew Lewis MSc FLS

2 August 2018 1:23pm

Hi Nilaksha!

Thanks for your comments and interest in our project. I read your project profile and would like to suggest that you take a look at using LoRaWAN for low levels of communications traffic? We are looking and testing kit for use with the www.thethingsnetwork.org It might use less power than cellular or wifi networks?

I hope this helps,

Judit Urquijo

8 August 2018 11:18am

Both initiatives are very interesting. I love the one about the elephants that @nilaksha comments.

There are currently several projects that are using artificial intelligence (in fact, Microsoft is looking for interested parties for possible funding https://www2.fundsforngos.org/environment-conservation-climate-change-and-ecology/ai-for-earth-program-seeking-proposals-from-all-over-the-world/). But its main objective is to identify the species thanks to techniques such as deep learning and I do not know if it would be applicable in the present case.

Regards,

Judit

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discussion

Wildlife Crime App Development

Rosemary Hitchens

19 August 2016 11:53pm

Hi, I'm currently working with U.S. Fish and Wildlife's Office of Law Enforcement on a project related to illegal wildlife trafficking and we have an idea for an app...

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Rosemary Hitchens

7 August 2018 9:21pm

Hi Maya,

We were able to get a website developed (www.safesouvenirs.com) but are now waiting on possible grant funding. In order to move forward, we would like to some work on uploading to our database and also getting into airports to advertise. So, fingers crossed that we are successful with the grant. Either way - I think it would be great to connect. I'll follow-up with a direct email. 

Best, Rosemary

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discussion

2-Way SMS solution for communication between Park management and Communities

Damian

17 May 2018 8:09am

Looking for Ideas on buidling a 2-Way SMS solution that will create communication between communities outside par area and the park staff. Which is the best way and approach to...

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Damian

25 May 2018 2:16pm

Hello Drue,

Thank you for your feedback. This is very helpful. I'll do my research on the signal application to see if it can be of help to us. I already am thinking of developing an application for the same. What are your thoughts? Is there a community of guys who can assist me in building this?

If you happen to get any more ideas, I will apreciate. You can reach me on the below email address.

[email protected]

 

Regards,

Damian

Drue Freeman

26 May 2018 6:07pm

Hi Damian, 

Just sent you an e-mail with some other thoughts.

Good luck!

Drue

Chris Muashekele

17 July 2018 5:29am

Hi Damian, 

 

You could use a SMS gateway, which acts as a link between two mobile devices in order to send SMSes. As Drue stated out Whatsapp or other applications might be better given the added functionality they provide. 

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discussion

What's your favorite wildlife/nature game?

Gautam Shah

2 March 2018 1:27pm

We're about to write a small piece on our favorite games about and for wildlife conservation.  We think the list is pretty small, but maybe you've seen or played some...

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Rogue Marechal

26 June 2018 10:36am

just wanted to bring our game to your attention, Serengeti: A Race For Life

https://serengeti.store/serengeti-hal001

The game is a joint venture between myself and my partner, who is responsible for the art direction.

If your article is still pending, we would be more than happy to provide a review copy for you, and make ourselves available for any questions you may have.

Thank you for providing a much-needed space to discuss games that aim to educate and raise awareness to the challenges of conservation.

Gautam Shah

28 June 2018 7:56am

Thanks Richard.  Welcome to the (silent) community.  We actually already wrote the article, but thanks for the reminder that I should post a link!!!   https://www.internetofelephants.com/news/2018/4/25/five-games-apps-for-conservation

We'll be happy to take a closer look at Serengeti: A Race for Life

Gautam!

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discussion

Using app-building tools for conservation monitoring

Daniel Steadman

1 February 2018 5:19pm

Hi all, Here at FFI's marine team we've been trialling the use of app-building platforms to create bespoke mobile-based data entry apps. We've mostly used them to...

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Colin Cook

15 March 2018 1:19am

I've just started looking at an app called ProofSafe, which will probably do what you want.

Sam Rye

16 May 2018 5:42am

Hi @djscrazyhorse 

I've been looking at a similar thing. I actually decided against it in the end, and instead to take a tack of developing a solution for a particular niche.

I just published an article about the thought process here:

https://medium.com/mdes-environmental-social-impact/photo-monitoring-for-the-flax-roots-557749cdb6f3

Would love to hear your thoughts.

 

Any reason you went with those particular App Builder solutions, out of interest?

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discussion

Photopoint Monitoring Solutions?

Sam Rye

2 May 2017 1:29am

Hey folks, I was wondering if anyone knows of any great Photopoint Monitoring solutions that already exist? I'm currently doing my Masters of Design (http://...

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Sam Rye

8 September 2017 5:24am

Thanks for sharing this Judit. I've had a play with GrowApp now, and my reflections are:

- the map centric view is probably really useful for people who are monitoring a series of trees / plants, but it doesn't serve as a particularly helpful presentation method for conservation groups in my opinion. Most groups have to upload a series of static images to a web form / send by email, to funders. Sending a link to the map would probably get them a nod of approval, but it wouldn't help them comply with their funding contract.

- I really like the way the photostitching is fully automated. Just take more than one photo and you get a little rolling timelapse. 

- They also executed the 50% opacity overlay in a really nice simple way, which makes it easier to line up, though I think there could be a little more automation of the moment of capture (a la Google Photoscan) to make sure they really line up.

So overall, definitely an interesting example, but it's definitely made for another use (low friction citizen science) as it's primary flow and interface.

Sam Rye

16 May 2018 3:49am

Hi everyone,

I decided at the end of last year, that it wasn't good enough that there's no good Photo Monitoring Apps on the market, and started to design my own.

Here's a blog post about that process:

Photo Monitoring For The Flax Roots

 

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discussion

SMART 2017 Annual Report

Drew Cronin

15 May 2018 5:39pm

Hello Wildlabs Community, Just wanted to make you aware of the release of the 2017 Annual Report from the SMART (Spatial Monitoring And Reporting Tool) Partnership. If you'...

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discussion

New Mobile App for Reporting Illegal Ivory

Sue Orloff

31 January 2018 1:52am

Biologists without Borders has developed a new mobile app, i of the Elephant, that allows concerned people to report where ivory is being sold. Our goal is to compel...

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Rachel Kramer

31 January 2018 9:00pm

Congratulations on the release of your app, @SueOrloff . Crowd-sourcing reporting of suspected illegal ivory in retail by members of the public, is a great concept (keeping verification and security considerations in mind). Given that there are many elephant ivory look-alikes on the market, including in online trade, it's important to ensure proper identification when users submit reports. TRAFFIC and WWF put together a visual ID guide many years ago, which can be downloaded here: http://www.traffic.org/publications/identification-guide-for-ivory-substitutes.html and the US Fish & Wildlife Service has an online guide to visual identification here: https://www.fws.gov/lab/ivory_natural.php. 

Sue Orloff

13 February 2018 7:46pm

Do federal laws against illegally selling ivory only apply when there is an interstate commerce element? If so, how is that typically proven?

Thanks

Sue Orloff

21 February 2018 2:26am

I did some research and here is what I found. Basically, federal laws prohibit the intrastate sale of ivory if it was imported after 1990 (CITES) and the interstate sale of ivory if it's under a 100 yrs old (considered an antique). 

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discussion

Species names API feedback

Ivo Bathke

25 January 2018 11:19am

Hello everyone, i would like to gather some feedback from biologist and environmental specialists for a species names API i've been working on. Its been a fun project so far...

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event

Technology Empowered Conservation Lecture Series

Paul Jepson

18 January 2018 12:00am

New technological forces look set to transform biodiversity science. This series will showcase and discuss cutting-edge applications happening in Oxford and beyond. It is guaranteed to inspire and challenge. 

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article

Congratulations to Zoohackathon winners, team ODINN!

Zoological Society of London

6 December 2017 12:00am

Following the UK Government’s landmark announcement of plans to introduce a complete ban on the domestic trade in ivory, it was fitting that a new machine learning product designed to tackle the supply end of this...

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article

FIT Cheetahs

Larissa Slaney

4 December 2017 12:00am

A new research project is looking to investigate whether technology combined with the ancient skills and knowledge of Namibian trackers can help save cheetahs from extinction. Called FIT Cheetahs, the research project...

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discussion

Finding Souvenir Data

Rosemary Hitchens

9 November 2017 5:31am

Hi All, Our team was selected as one of the Zoohackathon finalists and we are currently working on Safe Souvenirs. The aim is to allow tourists/travelers to select a...

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Drue Freeman

9 November 2017 6:18pm

Hi Rosemary,

Great idea!

Just thinking outloud here, but is it wise to tell people where to find unsafe souvenirs?  Wouldn't this be helping people who want to find ivory, fur, medicinal animal products, etc. more easily find sources? You might want to create a "blacklist" without being overly specific as to the types of procucts they are selling, and give a "seal of approval" for souvenir stores that are not selling illegal wildlife products and use this as a "carrot" to attract consciencious customers to the better stores.

Regards,

Drue

 

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discussion

Has anyone tried out the Forest Watcher Mobile App?

Liz Bourgault

27 October 2017 7:57pm

Wildlabs reposted a blog about the Forest Watcher launch (link). I am curious if anyone has tried out the app or has plans to use it. We are collecting feedback to do a second...

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rob_harris

1 November 2017 11:16am

Hi Liz - Steph encouraged me to have a play for our project in South Sudan. I was surprised the reference area allowed when setting up the app was fairly small but presume this is because it encourages local snapshots rather than a large scale overview. However I don't think there should be a problem with covering a larger reference area that can be zoomed into unless it makes the usability worse. For any sizeable PAs you'd have to create multiple 'areas' and this is quite tricky to do as the PAs didn't show up automatically on the reference map. Great innovative app though and I am happy to be a guinea pig. Rob

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article

HWC Tech Challenge Update: Meet the Judges

WILDLABS Team

20 October 2017 12:00am

Our panel of international experts has been hard at work reviewing the 47 proposals we recieved for innovative technological tools to address human wildlife conflict. The panelists have systematically been assessing the...

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