Group

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.

event

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

One Ocean Collab
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

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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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,

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

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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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

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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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

Hi Damian, 

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

Good luck!

Drue

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?

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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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.

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

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

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?

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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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.

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

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

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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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. 

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

Thanks

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

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
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
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
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

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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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?

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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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
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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discussion

What tech challenges do you have?

I'm the Campaigns Lead at The Developer Society, a not for profit co-op digital agency working on all kinds of digital builds, tech solutions, APIs and data problems, and...

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Hello John

This is a very generous offer, thank you.

Camera trapping as a tool for researching animal behaviour and ecology is rapidly spreading and growing, but with the exception of the specialist Pantheracams which only take full colour still shots, the cameras are designed for a recreational market, mainly of deer hunters in cold and temperate areas. Consequently, in research applications, the performance of the cameras is often disappointing, and hugely elaborate statistical modelling is used to overcome their deficiencies.

A research grade camera trap at an affordable price, that can do more than a Pantheracam, would be a great tool.

If you want to focus on one component then the passive infrared triggers need a complete re-work.

Peter Apps

 

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article

Kids, Drones & Science At The Water’s Edge

Cara Byington
It’s one thing to hear that a project is working, it’s another thing entirely to see the data brought to life. Using submersible and aerial drones, as well as scientists with snorkels and digital cameras, The Nature...

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article

DAS: A Scaleable Solution For Protected Area Management

Camellia Williams
The Domain Awareness System (DAS) is a revolution in monitoring technology, creating real-time awareness of protected areas assets. This technology has the potential to completely change standard monitoring procedures...

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discussion

How to track and count Scarlet Macaws

Hi all, I would love to have some advise about a good option for tracking scarlet macaws in the wild with a decent accuracy but without carrying antennas and having lots of people...

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I recomended cybertracker. Is easy and flexible app for android and works without cellphone coverage.

 

 

It might be worth looking at this NZ based participatory bird count - https://www.greatkererucount.nz/

I believe they based it on iNaturalist - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.inaturalist.android

Hi, thanks jval and smarye for your ideas, I will look into it.

 

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discussion

Anonymous SMS

Hi All, I am looking for a two-way communication solution using SMS. Ol Pejeta Conservancy works to conserve wildlife, provide a sanctuary for great apes, and to generate...

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Hi Will, 

We are collaborating with WCS, San Diago zoo and the Wildtrack team from last year's zoohackathon to build a similar solution to the one you describe. The solution uses Twilio and you get a full overview of the work already built here: https://devpost.com/software/wildtrack

It would be good to share requirements and see if there is a way the Wildtrack solution can work for your needs. We would love to work with you to understand your full set of requirements and see if these can be accommodated. 

If this is of interest please do drop me an email at [email protected]. I will also be out in Kenya from 25th April for two weeks, so if you'd like to meet we can hopefully do this face to face.

Sophie

 

Hi all

I'd be interested to hear if there were any updates on the discussion above. We @marianneteoh are looking at establishing informant networks for reporting illegal fishing and marine wildlife trade and a means of anonymous reporting would be incredibly useful.

Thanks in advance,

Kate

Hi Kate,

At ZSL, we're continuing to work with the WildTrack team on their solution - now named SmartSkout. We've just had an article published on the Guardian about the project https://www.theguardian.com/vulcan-partner-zone/2017/aug/22/new-app-enable-citizens-report-poaching-real-time 

We're currently focussed on producing the MVP for terrestrial SMART sites but we'd be very interested to hear more about your work establishing informant networks to see what potential there is for broader applications of the technology in the future. Feel free to connect with me at [email protected] 

Best

Rachael

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discussion

Operation Ferdinand - a Predator and Livestock Conflict Prevention Video Game!

Hello there, WiILDLABS! My name is Gabriela Fleury, a conservation biologist and graduate of the University of Cape Town's ConBio programme. I work with Jaymie Krambeck, a...

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Hi Gabriela, i`ll check the game. Very interesting!!

 

Thanks for all the interest everyone! My colleague Jaymie and I are so excited that people are checking out our game. Let us know if you have any questions or suggestions!

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discussion

Bird identification app needed

FFI Georgia wish to develop an application for smartphones to identify raptors that are commonly traded or poached in Georgia, eastern Europe. The aim is to provide allow law...

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Have you already tried the Merlin Bird ID App (http://merlin.allaboutbirds.org/)? The photo ID works pretty well. You just need to take a picture of the the whole bird. For offline mode, you can download a regional "Bird Pack", such as "US: Southeast".

Regards, Ed

Dear Ed,

 

Excellent suggestion, thank you. We indeed need something as user-friendly as this. Right now they do not have all the right species for us (Eastern Europe/Middle East) but we could talk to them to see what is possible. Thanks again!

Fleur

Hi Fleur,

I see now that the Merlin App bird packs are limited to North America. You could certainly contact the Cornell University Lab of Ornitology (http://www.birds.cornell.edu/) who develop the app. They may be interested in helping with such a problem.

Another option may be iNaturalist (http://www.inaturalist.org/). They have an app for logging nature observations. It is not limited to bird, but includes plants, animals, etc. They are currently adding a deep learning system to help automatically identify species from photos (currently around 10,000 species can be identified). I believe they give a top 10 possibilities. They use GPS location data from the proto or phone to provide localized suggestions. There's a demo web page here: 

https://www.inaturalist.org/computer_vision_demo

According to their blog (https://www.inaturalist.org/pages/computer_vision_demo), they have integrated the computer vision module with their iPhone app. I don't think they have added it to their Android app yet. I have Android, so I have not tried the computer vision component from my app.

They may also have limited species for your area, however, the great thing about iNaturalist is that anyone can upload observations. I believe for the computer vision to be effective, they want to have at least 20 verified observations of a species by 20 different people before they add it to their model. The app is from the California Academy of Science. You may want to contact them to see if you can accelerate the process.

Best of luck!

Ed

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discussion

SMART 2016 Annual Report

Hello Wildlabs Community, Just wanted to make you aware of the release of the 2016 Annual Report from the SMART (Spatial Monitoring And Reporting Tool) Partnership. If you'...

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Thanks for sharing this, Drew! We have a number of SMART focused case studies and articles in our Resources area that might also be worth checking out if you're considering using SMART in your work: 

  • The Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool (SMART) - Alexa Montefiore gave a nice introduction to SMART in this first overview article 
  • Video: Discover the SMART Approach - recorded in June 2016, this talk was presented by Barney Long (@Barney_Long ), Emma Stokes (@estokes ) , Jonathan Palmer (@jpalmer ) and Alexa Montefiore, this talk explains the origins of SMART, offers case studies of successful applications and outlines future development plans for the methodology. The session concludes with an interactive Q&A session, which offered the opportunity to delve deeper into the practicalities of implementing SMART. 
  • Getting SMART in Cambodia - In this talk, Kate West (@katewest ), Manager of our Marine Conservation Group, shares her key lessons learnt from implementing SMART in a marine context and dives deep into the limitations and considerations that need to be taken into account when implementing the SMART approach. This is a valuable talk for any team considering deploying SMART in a marine context. 
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