Camera traps have been a key part of the conservation toolkit for decades. Remotely triggered video or still cameras allow researchers and managers to monitor cryptic species, survey populations, and support enforcement responses by documenting illegal activities. Increasingly, machine learning is being implemented to automate the processing of data generated by camera traps.
A recent study published showed that, despite being well-established and widely used tools in conservation, progress in the development of camera traps has plateaued since the emergence of the modern model in the mid-2000s, leaving users struggling with many of the same issues they faced a decade ago. That manufacturer ratings have not improved over time, despite technological advancements, demonstrates the need for a new generation of innovative conservation camera traps. Join this group and explore existing efforts, established needs, and what next-generation camera traps might look like - including the integration of AI for data processing through initiatives like Wildlife Insights and Wild Me.
Group Highlights:
Our past Tech Tutors seasons featured multiple episodes for experienced and new camera trappers. How Do I Repair My Camera Traps? featured WILDLABS members Laure Joanny, Alistair Stewart, and Rob Appleby and featured many troubleshooting and DIY resources for common issues.
For camera trap users looking to incorporate machine learning into the data analysis process, Sara Beery's How do I get started using machine learning for my camera traps? is an incredible resource discussing the user-friendly tool MegaDetector.
And for those who are new to camera trapping, Marcella Kelly's How do I choose the right camera trap(s) based on interests, goals, and species? will help you make important decisions based on factors like species, environment, power, durability, and more.
Finally, for an in-depth conversation on camera trap hardware and software, check out the Camera Traps Virtual Meetup featuring Sara Beery, Roland Kays, and Sam Seccombe.
And while you're here, be sure to stop by the camera trap community's collaborative troubleshooting data bank, where we're compiling common problems with the goal of creating a consistent place to exchange tips and tricks!
Header photo: Stephanie O'Donnell
No showcases have been added to this group yet.
- @MorenaRodriguez
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Electronics Engineer working in the development of smart conservation technology solutions.
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conservation biologist working primarily in Argentina
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Andigena ID+ es una empresa Colombiana dedicada a promover la conservación de la biodiversidad de manera integral a través de la investigación y el desarrollo.
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- @Yitmwa
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A conservation biologist with specialization in wildlife monitoring and community engagement. With experience in deploying camera traps and bioacoustics for mammal and birds monitoring in the Afrotropical environment.
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University of Suffolk
Researcher on the 8 Primates Project
PhD student- biodiversity monitoring using acoustic data
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Ecologist specialising in human-wildlife conflict research. PhD in elephant ecology.
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- @Bistra_Dilkina
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Assoc. Prof. of Computer Science at USC and co-director of USC Center for AI in Society. Integration of machine learning and optimization, decision making, conservation planning, wildlife corridors, climate impacts, disaster resilience, wildlife trafficking.
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University of Georgia (UGA)
Environmental anthropologist; Ph.D. student in Integrative Conservation
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- @SFarber2025
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Wildlife biologist conducting annual remote camera studies in Pacific Northwest, USA
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A wildlife ranger with over 05 years in active duty and 03 years as an active EarthRanger user down in Murchison Falls National Park , Uganda.
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Article
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12 June 2023
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Permanent and Full Time role at the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology
8 June 2023
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| Description | Activity | Replies | Groups | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aloha Luke,This is an amazing tool that you have created. Are your cameras availble for purchase? We use a lot of camera traps in the Hono O Na Pali Natural Area Reserve on Kauai... |
+4
|
AI for Conservation, Autonomous Camera Traps for Insects, Camera Traps | 13 hours 45 minutes ago | |
| @LydiaKatsis Trapper was designed to process large-scale camera trap projects, and it offers two interfaces for data management: a simple citizen science interface and an expert... |
+15
|
Camera Traps | 3 days 3 hours ago | |
| Hello Eugene, I just tried your service:Was wondering how possible will it be to have the option to upload a second image and have a comparison running to let the user know if... |
|
AI for Conservation, Camera Traps, Data management and processing tools, Software Development | 5 days 22 hours ago | |
| Thank you for your reply! It surely helps, we have use exif for a while to read metadata from images, when there is information available. Could be nice to maybe see if we... |
|
AI for Conservation, Camera Traps | 1 week 2 days ago | |
| Hi everyone,I’m currently developing a multilingual, offline-friendly training program called ConTech Curriculum, designed... |
|
Autonomous Camera Traps for Insects, Camera Traps, Conservation Tech Training and Education, Protected Area Management Tools | 1 week 4 days ago | |
| Wow this is amazing! This is how we integrate Biology and Information Technology. |
|
Camera Traps, AI for Conservation, Build Your Own Data Logger Community, Data management and processing tools, Marine Conservation, Protected Area Management Tools, Geospatial | 2 weeks 3 days ago | |
| It's a wildlabs security innovations thermal camera product. We are a new company (The Netherlands), just formed last year. We just have one wildlife customer at the moment in... |
|
Camera Traps | 4 weeks ago | |
| That's great. Thanks! |
|
Camera Traps | 4 weeks 2 days ago | |
| Idles around 2W, peaks a bit more than 6W. |
|
Camera Traps, AI for Conservation | 1 month ago | |
| We have a camera that could do this over some distance away due to a thermal module being involved. It will also record very high quality audio (Nature recording audiophiles rave... |
|
Camera Traps | 1 month ago | |
| Here is a nice review on the use of camera traps in various ecological contexts:https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/toc/10.1002/(ISSN)2045-7758.ecological-insights |
+10
|
Camera Traps, Data management and processing tools | 1 month 1 week ago | |
| Super nice project! How do you imagine thermal cameras will help with vegetation? It cannot exactly look though it.Rather than placing the camera inside the metalbox have you... |
|
Camera Traps | 1 month 1 week ago |
Elephant Recognition
14 January 2023 10:01am
16 January 2023 2:30pm
Hi Simon,
i've popped you an email too, but actually sharing some more information here about what you're after will mean you'll be able to get better help from our full community.
What are you looking for in particular? It sounds like there is particular piece of software you've seen that could be useful in your work - do you know what it's called? What do you need to do - image recognition, call recognition? Alerts when calls happen or are you looking for something more detailed? The more you tell us about what you're trying to do the better we'll be able to help!
Steph
26 February 2023 1:44pm
Hi Steph,
This should be a simple project. Recently I came across a website with a sample video I am not sure whether it was from the wild Labs website. Where a camera is seen spotting a raccoon and giving an alert saying raccoon detected. My expectations are on similar lines, the only difference here is to change the raccoon to an elephant or a tiger. Please advice.
camera with fast trigger- and recovery time?
12 January 2023 6:56pm
27 January 2023 5:40pm
@Stephanie as luck would have it, I recently released some firmware for Browning BTC-7E-HP5 and BTC-8E-HP5 cameras that contains a number of feature enhancements, including the oft-asked-for seconds-level resolution on the Date/Time in the image info strip. See my recent blog posts on the topic, which incudes pointers for where to find the firmware images. Links below
New Optional Features for Browning HP5 Trail Cameras - Winterberry Wildlife
New features for Browning HP5 Trail Cameras. Date and Time format options; DSLR trigger mode; and more. Available through new menu options.
Adding Features to Browning Elite HP5 Firmware - Winterberry Wildlife
I created firmware images for Browning HP5 trail cameras new features, including bypassing night video limit, an enhanced info strip, and more
23 February 2023 11:44am
Hi Robert, thanks a lot for sharing this! I guess, this won't work with Patriot? For my setting it is also very important, that animals do not detect or react to the camera, so I think the PAtriot is in this issue better than the Recon Force HP5. Also the battery life has to last for 3-4 month, that is why I prefer a camera with 8 batteries, like the Patirot over a camera with 6 batteries like the Dark OPS. The spec ops elite hp5 is obviously sold out on the browning website.
26 February 2023 3:25am
@Stephanie well this just goes to show how good Browning market segmentation is :) Yes -- it sounds like the "clickless" Patriot is a good choice for you. I am in the process of adding support of these features in several more models. I'll add Patriots to my list.
Using drones and camera trapping to track New Hampshire’s moose populations
22 February 2023 9:38pm
Using drones and camera trapping to track New Hampshire’s moose populations | UNH Today
New research led by New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station scientist Remington Moll assessed how emerging technologies may help improve population calculations of North America's moose (Alces alces) population.
Kennedy Muriithi - How do I get started with setting up my camera trap to monitor wildlife? - YouTube
22 February 2023 12:52pm
Tropical pilot of insect camera traps
22 February 2023 12:17pm
Texas Chapter of The Wildlife Society’s Annual Meeting 2023
20 February 2023 10:56pm
Catch up with The Variety Hour: February 2023
14 February 2023 6:26pm
Deep Sea BRUVS Development
28 January 2023 1:41am
11 February 2023 3:07am
Hi Titus,
If the usual syntactic foam sources aren't available, an option may be to add an empty dry housing or use a larger housing for the BRUV, just to provide the buoyancy.
You can make your own syntactic foam from glass microballoons and epoxy resin, but this will require experimentation and testing. For sub-surface buoyancy, you could also use a jerry can full of cooking oil, or a coil of polypropylene rope.
Hiring Full Stack Developer at Conservation X Labs
10 February 2023 5:35pm
How do I get started with setting up my camera trap to monitor wildlife?
6 February 2023 5:42pm
Job: Building a network of conservation tech across continents
2 February 2023 1:50pm
Consultancy opportunity: Wildlife monitoring specialist
31 January 2023 11:26am
Solar panels in the tropics
26 January 2023 12:28am
27 January 2023 1:23pm
Hi Tom,
I'm with Akiba, you have to test. A collaborator has deployed solar-augmented kit in secondary jungle and some of them got enough light, and others didn't, so it can work. The open circuit voltage of solar panels doesn't change a whole lot in dim light, but the current drops drastically. So you would choose an oversize panel of the same voltage (or a bit higher).
Thanks
27 January 2023 3:56pm
I've been intrigued by this topic. Thinking about ways you could use drones or some kind of launcher to deploy panels above the canopy. Sadly I live in the great white north so I have no way of testing any concepts. Maybe even some kind of solar balloon that could float above the canopy. Interesting design problem.
30 January 2023 10:10am
Hey Tom,
Since the output is dependent on a couple of factors such as the solar irradiance of the place, shading from the canopy, the type of solar panels (mono, poly or amorphous) and orientation of the panels, etc, I'd suggest you use a software to simulate the different parameters to get an almost accurate estimation of the output. You can try PVsyst- it has a free month trial (I haven't used it before but I hear it's great) or any other PV software :)
Does anyone have spare Bushnell Impulse traps?
20 January 2023 3:24pm
27 January 2023 11:53am
Hi @timmh I've posted a link to this on Twitter too so fingers crossed you get some replies!
All the best,
Rob
Advanced Field School in Computational Ecology
25 January 2023 2:54pm
Apply Now: AI for Conservation Office Hours
18 January 2023 5:15pm
BoomBox camera trap models?
1 June 2022 6:46pm
8 September 2022 1:21am
Hi Pen-Yuan.
I need to revise what I said before. Browning devices within a specific model number have similar PCBs, ie: we worked with the BTC-8A for the Spec Ops Advantage. They're currently on the BTC-8E which we've found to have a different PCB. So I think the rule we're using on Browning at the moment (and most vendors) are that the model number needs to match, else it's likely the PCB is different. This also happened to us with Bushnell Trophycams. We're running into this issue now with a Boombox customer planning a Browning deployment. We're currently getting the camera trap in so we can reverse engineer the newer model and interface it to Boombox.
Akiba
16 January 2023 10:41am
Hi @Freaklabs and anyone still here!
@hikinghack recently conducted an autopsy of the Browning Strike Force HD Pro X (BTC-5HDPX) camera trap that I got, and I've posted some photos in this Flickr album:
In particular, there's a close-up of the board:
PXL_20221229_145459164 | Autopsy of the Browning Strike Forc… | Flickr
Autopsy of the Browning Strike Force HD Pro X (BTC-5HDPX) camera trap to examine its circuit board. Conducted at Dinalab. Attribution: Andrew Quitmeyer
An initial look by my friend @htarold suggests that it might be possible to tap into the triggering mechanism:
Depth Sensing Technologies for Camera Traps - #23 by Harold - General - GOSH Community Forum
@hpy had asked me about a quick review of potential technologies that could be used to incorporate depth sensing capabilities into camera traps. The idea is that if camera trappers can have decent depth information from …
But I wonder if @Freaklabs has any insight into how this compares to Boombox camera traps that you have worked with??
18 January 2023 11:20am
The PIR motion sensor is at the top of the device board. You can see they are using a 3-pin analog motion sensor. From there it goes into a processing circuit. Unfortunately it looks like they built their own PIR processing circuit to determine motion so it would need to be reverse engineered to determine where to connect to.
Interview for Technologies in Conservation
24 November 2022 10:07am
16 January 2023 2:42pm
I'd be happy to chat with you if you wanted! My expertise is within passive acoustic monitoring particularly. The Conservation Tech Directory might be useful for you in identifying relevant actors within the space.
16 January 2023 5:16pm
Happy to contribute tgray@woodsholegroup.com
17 January 2023 5:12pm
My original background is in ecology and conservation, and am now in the elected leadership of the Gathering for Open Science Hardware which convenes researchers developing open source tech for science. I am not working on a specific piece of technology right now, but am happy to contribute some higher-level views for your interview if that helps.
International Congress for Conservation Biology
16 January 2023 2:53pm
Best Camera Trap Models Database: Input Needed
9 February 2021 8:39pm
9 April 2022 11:46am
Many thanks, "mactadpole" for the promising remarks concerning the Browning Dark Ops Pro XD dual-lens BTC-6PXD:
"...we are extremely pleased with the BTC-6PXD. We went with these because they only use 6 aa batteries and they were smaller/lighter than the BTC-8A."
Given the similarity between the western Ecuador conditions you describe and those we face in Costa Rica the Browning - 180$ from Amazon where 37 reviews are predominantly favourable - sounds like the camera for us. Your 12.2.2021 report is now over a year old, however. Please, has anything changed since then? Any other candidate we should consider?
5 August 2022 2:00pm
Hi Shawn,
I am looking into camera traps to use for an arboreal project in Panama, I am really interested in your experience of mounting camera traps up trees. The photo shows an interesting mount, did you make it yourselves?
How were the seals on the Brownings? I have been tempted to go for reconyx cause they have really good o-ring seals but they may just be too pricy so looking for a reliable alternative.
Anything you can share will be useful.
Cheers
Lucy
15 January 2023 2:08pm
Hi Ellie, did you compile this information and is it avaiblable somewhere?
I need to upgrade the camera system in Baiboosun Nature Reserve Kyrgyzstan and this info would be of great help.
Please check: www.baiboosun.com
Thanks, Luciano.
New issue of BES' Ecological Solutions and Evidence Journal
13 January 2023 3:43am
New paper - An evaluation of platforms for processing camera-trap data using artificial intelligence
13 January 2023 12:14am
New paper - Real-time alerts from AI-enabled camera traps using the Iridium satellite network: A case-study in Gabon, Central Africa
13 January 2023 12:12am
Conservation Technology Intern (Vietnam)
11 January 2023 5:00pm
Help : Topics in Remote Sensing and Management of Protected Areas
10 January 2023 11:04am
PhD position (m/f/d) in Insect Ecology and Conservation
9 January 2023 12:53pm
Job: Conservation Technology Specialist (PT)
6 January 2023 12:49am
Otter video help!
5 September 2022 6:57pm
7 September 2022 6:12pm
Thank you for the response! I'm not sure how to find that out. It says MP4. Is that what you're looking for?
21 December 2022 7:46pm
Did you get any further with this Britnee?
26 December 2022 6:54pm
No, I was never able to figure out how to send these to anyone on here. I was hoping to learn how to clear these videos up if possible!
Android smartphone app
22 December 2022 12:13am
Help - Innovative ways to track elephant movement
28 October 2022 4:50pm
4 November 2022 5:24pm
Why would you want to avoid alerting the rangers ?
You don't need high tech for this; elephants leave very obvious tracks and sign.
7 November 2022 12:52am
Hi Tyler,
Would like to introduce you to Ceres Tags products
- Ceres Tags products come in boxes of 5, 10 and 24.
- There are some software partners such as Earthranger, Mapipedia and possibly CiboLabs that would be able to assist you with your mapping vegetation requirements
- Ceres Tag does not require any towers, base stations and infrastructure. This allows you to see any movements from the heard outside of their normal herd (boundary alerts), and you will not be disturbing any of the flora and fauna with infrastructure set up.
- For the timing you are looking at, Ceres Wild pings directly to satellite 24 times a day. For Ceres Trace and Ceres Ranch there are 4 within 24 hours. Taking into consideration, when you set up alert areas, you will get them directly to your phone/laptop via your software of choice
- Ceres Ranch is a reusable tag that has just been launched. Use it on this project, remove the tag and then use the tag on your next project
- The software you choose will assist with the history of your animal movements. Ceres Tag is integrated with 11 software partners and in-development with 18 software partners https://cerestag.com/pages/software-partners
- Understanding it is a short-term project, you would be able to use Ceres Tags products without the additional expense of setting up and removing infrastructure- towers, gateways
- With Ceres Tag, you are purchasing the box of tags and picking a suitable software to deliver the information you require. On average, a box of 10 Ceres Trace Tags, is the same as 1 LoRaWAN tower.
14 December 2022 10:49am
I just came across this interesting paper in which seismic monotoring of animals like elephants was mentioned.
This is the study refered to:
Cheers,
Lars
14 January 2023 3:39pm
I can be reached at techie.simon@gmail.com