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Camera Traps / Feed

Looking for a place to discuss camera trap troubleshooting, compare models, collaborate with members working with other technologies like machine learning and bioacoustics, or share and exchange data from your camera trap research? Get involved in our Camera Traps group! All are welcome whether you are new to camera trapping, have expertise from the field to share, or are curious about how your skill sets can help those working with camera traps. 

event

CV4Ecology Summer School

Stephanie O'Donnell

3 May 2022 6:13pm

A three-week intensive summer school teaching Computer Vision Methods for Ecology, seeking to empower ecologists to accurately and efficiently analyze large image, audio, or video datasets using computer vision....

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discussion

Advice Needed: Camera Trap Occupancy Modeling for Small Data Set

mblasky

16 March 2022 7:33pm

Hello All!  I'm currently trying to analyze predator-prey spatial overlap using multi-species occupancy modeling. I've created 2-way (between two species)...

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Carly Batist

26 March 2022 10:59am

Couple other papers looking at predator-prey interactions with camera trap data & multi-species occupancy models (though you may/probably know about some of them already!) -

Van der Weyde, L. K., Mbisana, C., & Klein, R. (2018). Multi-species occupancy modelling of a carnivore guild in wildlife management areas in the Kalahari. Biological Conservation, 220, 21-28. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0006320717316464. 

Murphy, A., Kelly, M. J., Karpanty, S. M., Andrianjakarivelo, V., & Farris, Z. J. (2019). Using camera traps to investigate spatial co‐occurrence between exotic predators and native prey species: a case study from northeastern Madagascar. Journal of Zoology, 307(4), 264-273. https://zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/jzo.12645. 

Kleiven, E. F., Barraquand, F., Gimenez, O., Henden, J. A., Ims, R. A., Soininen, E. M., & Yoccoz, N. G. (2021). A dynamic occupancy model for interacting species with two spatial scales. bioRxiv, 2020-12. https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.12.16.423067v2.abstract. 

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discussion

Experience with Microwave Motion Sensors!

Tom Southworth

23 February 2022 10:22am

Hi all, I'm looking for anyone who has any experience in using Microwave Sensors, such as the rcwl-0516, to detect the motion of birds/mammals for triggering camera traps....

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Rob Appleby

16 March 2022 3:07pm

@TomRS  @greghall and @htarold my initial (and brief) tests with the microwave sensor (same as this one: https://wiki.dfrobot.com/MicroWave_Sensor_SKU__SEN0192) I have suggest it's really sensitive to movement at fairly close range (~2m or less). Whilst this is impressive (like, it can detect my finger moving a few mm @ ~1-2m), it suggests that in order to avoid a lot of false positives/blank images, a fairly high tolerance or threshold would have to be set in the code. This will take a bit of trial and error to get right I reckon. Even though it has an in-buit potentiometer to toggle 'sensitivity' (equates to distance), even at the lowest setting, which is what I have it at, it's still really sensitive out at several metres. It definitely does appear to have an ability to tell the difference between a 'one off' or superficial movement, and more consistent movement that might be expected when an animal moves through an area. Maybe a combo PIR (interrupt) and microwave sensor (double checks after wakeup) could be a goer...although that could be a bit slow...Anyway, thought I'd share...

Paul Geraghty

20 March 2022 5:20pm

Last year I did some tests with 2 rcwl-0516 sensors and a single LoRa radio in order to detect human activity on two paths/roads leading to our home. This worked well and as far as i could tell was telling me if something was coming or going, and even infer if there were were more than one coming or going. Each "trap" consisted of two rcwl-0516s on 3 to 5 metre cables which triggered interrupts on an 8v Arduino pro mini, whether sensor A or B triggered first denoting the direction of travel. Whether deer or dogs were triggering the traps was not conclusive to me, but I did not experience to my knowledge any false positives caused by birds or flies - which had been a major issue with PIRs. I was detecting at about 5m to 8m distance. Knowing when the postman was about to arrive gave me time to lock up my dog. It detected bikes, horses, vehicles and humans as I expected. Triggering something like an ESP32 Cam would probably very simple, IF there are enough spare pins to act as interrupts - which was my main problem. HTH.
Rob Appleby

20 March 2022 6:05pm

Thanks @PaulG and @TomRS I've now ordered some of the same model units, so shall hopefully get to test em out soon!

Cheers,

Rob

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discussion

Comparisons: Close-up Lenses for Camera Traps

Nils Ratnaweera

9 January 2018 8:49am

Hey Guys! We're setting up a camera trap within a woodpile to see what mammals enter/exit the nesting box we've included there. For this purpose, we'd need a camera...

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lca_inc

14 January 2022 9:34pm

I really like your approach Colin, but because I couldn't find any magnets that were small enough for the purpose I resorted to using the complete glasses lens and attaching it with thin strips of velcro (you can buy velcro tap in rolls at the hardware) and on the camera body I used thick double-sided tape for a step-up for attaching the velcro. It works, but the velcro shows signs of deteriorating after 6-8 months in the Australian sun, and the full lens not fitting under the lens hood allows moisture and fine bark particles etc. to get behind it. I'm using Swift 3C cameras and have used +1.5 and +2 lenses with great results. Any advice on where to get small but strong magnets? Re the suggested coax sealant - beware using it for long periods where it is exposed to hot sun. It becomes very difficult/impossible to remove completely. In its intended electrical applications it is meant to be used as a water-proofing over a high quality electrical tape seal. If is has to be removed the sticky gunk remains on the tape.
Colin Cook

14 January 2022 10:28pm

I've purchased my magnets here and the ferrous mounting stripes here. I've used UV cure superglue for attaching the magnets, as standard superglue sometmes failed after longperiod of being wet.

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discussion

Wifi trail camera

Gdgros

3 December 2021 8:47pm

Hello again everyone been a while since I have been online a lot of great ideas I see being posted.   The reason for my post is I am working on a idea for a long range...

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markusb

16 January 2022 11:41pm

This seems like an eminently sensible thing to try. The main issue I've seen with most wifi cameras is that their antennas are omnidirectional - i.e. they send in every (horizontal) direction, because they don't know where the other wifi endpoint is. That means their signal doesn't go very far, but it's easy to connect. The tplink (and ubiquiti) long range devices have very directional antennas, so their signal is very focussed in that direction, which effectively means it remains quite strong for some distance. They also have to listen for the (more-interesting) return signal though from the wifi camera, and that could cause you grief. However, the highly-directional antenna can pick up fainter signals, from the direction they are pointing at, so it may be ok.

Getting wifi (or any radio signal) over any distance depends a lot on circumstances (distances, terrain, vegetation, weather, interference, ...) so I can't generalise to say this would/wouldn't work. You'd have to try it and see (or get into wifi signal strength measurements and calculations, which you can do with some apps). Some cameras also have removable antennas, so you could replace an omnidirectional (stick) antenna with something much more directional. Or, set up a wifi bridge, with e.g. a ubiquiti point-to-point link, with one end is close to your wifi camera (to pick up its weaker signal) and the other end at the house.

There are plenty of wifi wildlife cameras on ebay, which I understood use their own wifi hotspot to learn how to connect to a broader wifi network - same as the reolink, etc. when you first set them up. Lacking a broader wifi network they might offer their own as a fallback, so you can download while walking by. But I've not tried them, as they are quite expensive, and I have little faith their wifi signal would reach far enough (as per above) for our needs. I'm trying to build my own wildlife cameras now, using esp32cam modules and an external wifi antenna, just waiting on a few more parts :-)

 

Gdgros

17 January 2022 1:23am

Markusb very true but those camera are not truly wifi, they are a wifi /Bluetooth camera , meaning the create there own  wifi network to down load the pics you have to connect to that network.

 

Now in saying that I have not experimented in writing a code using a programming language to be able to turn on and off wifi or Bluetooth and then turn it back off and tell the code to be able to do this ever two hours or so.

But  using a small form factor pc that is connect to a ubiquiti or tplink long range wifi device this is possible to a Bluetooth / wifi trail camera 

markusb

17 January 2022 2:27am

Ok, understand. Note, the bluetooth feature is very short range, just to configure the camera from your phone when standing nearby. Wifi will give you some longer range and greater bandwidth for image/video downloads. If it is only offering its own wifi network then that is sad, but unsurprising (they try to be very simple/cheap). Doesn't change my point though about the signal strength - if you are trying to get a really long distance (which is "over 100m" on most wifi cameras) then you will need to add something in between. A dedicated NUC/RPi/small-PC would be one option - but your reolink already has a simple PC built in, that offers the remote control and download features and storage to an SD card, etc. You can write your code to talk to that, from your home, using the reolink API/CGI (https://support.reolink.com/hc/en-us/articles/900000625763-What-is-CGI-API). The small PC might still need to handle the "long-distance" wifi link if appropriate for your needs, in which case a ubiquiti/tplink wifi bridge (and a PC at home) might be more cost-effective? That can basically extend the camera's wifi back to your home.

This might need some whiteboarding and actual site-information to optimise :-) 

 

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discussion

Feedback Needed: Wireless Camera Traps

Vasudev Pandey

4 October 2017 3:33am

I am interested in making long distance wireless camera traps ( approx 15 kms), but as a proof of concept i am trying to make a short distance one (approx 500 metre) first,...

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Simon Taylor

16 November 2017 7:14pm

Just be aware of the limitations; you'll be transmitting at a very slow baud rate on frequencies that may have strict duty cycle (transmission time) and ERP (transmission power) limits. Check up on the rules for the region in which you intend to operate and make sure that the restrictions fit in with your intended application.

Scott Newey

27 November 2017 5:03pm

The following two papers describe our attempst to develop an open source RPi camera trap platform with long range communications capability, and may be of interest:

Nazir, S., Fairhurst, G., Verdicchio, F., 2017. WiSE - a satellite-based system for remote monitoring. Int. J. Satell. Commun. Netw. 35, 201–214. https://doi.org/10.1002/sat.1176

Nazir, S., Newey, S., Irvine, R.J., Verdicchio, F., Davidson, P., Fairhurst, G., Wal, R. van der, 2017. WiseEye: Next Generation Expandable and Programmable Camera Trap Platform for Wildlife Research. PLoS One 12, e0169758. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0169758

More details can be found here: https://erg.abdn.ac.uk/wise/

/Scott

 

Gdgros

7 December 2021 5:54pm

Vasudev

I have had no issues using ubiquiti device and pushing internet out to 5 miles line of site, what I am curious what are you using for you camera on the other end, I have always wanted to try and build a long distance wifi trail camera ( true wifi ).

is it solar powered or battery powered that has been my issue trying to figure out the power issue 

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discussion

Cellular and Lora camera traps

Antoine Ede

20 May 2021 10:51am

Dear all, I'm looking for feedback from field experience using cellular and/or LoRA camera trap. How is the reliability of those systems and how strong have to be the...

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Rob Appleby

21 May 2021 8:36pm

Hi Antoine,

I am intrigued myself about how well a LoRa-based trail camera might work. I wonder if the 'LoRa' element is a more traditional radio connection? And of course the system still appears to rely on a cellular connection at the base station end. But interesting nonetheless. 

On the radio side, there's also the CuddeLink model: https://www.cuddeback.com/cuddelink

However, I'd be sitting down when you look at the price. 

I've had reasonable success with older model 3G cameras such as the Bolymedia MG983G-30M. From memory, it couldn't transfer video files larger than 10sec in length and it gets a bit glitchy if the batteries are running low. But, it worked well enough for me at the time.  

If you do end up looking closer at the 'LoRa' model, please let us know how it works.

Cheers,

Rob

Kyler Abernathy

24 May 2021 4:09pm

Hi Antoine,

I had not seen these before, but I'll echo Rob in wondering if the radio links in these are truly what most would consider 'LoRa'.  That tech/protocol generally has very low data transfer rates and would be quite challenged in sending pictures.  That said, what they call it may not be relevant if it works for you. I would just be cautious of thinking it could integrate with other 'LoRa' devices or networks.  Some other web sites that mention this system describe the radio link as 'proprietary'.

Kyler

Gdgros

7 December 2021 4:51pm

Antoineede they are a mesh style of camera, one links to the other and then send pictures back to the home unit where you either send them via cellular or you check the sd card. The cover Lora and cuddielink cameras do this but they play hell on battieries.

I had a cuddelink system and got rid of it , the home unit was to hook up to a pc and then from there you could easily wept a scrip to send to txt message or email etc but they scrapped that idea 

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discussion

Try our open-source automatic camera trap detection/labeling tool!

Katie Wetstone

12 November 2021 8:31pm

Hi everyone! We are spreading the word about a free, open-source tool called Zamba that automatically detects and classifies animals in...

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Lars Holst Hansen

1 December 2021 10:37am

This sounds so cool! I will try it out and spread the word.

Morgan Gray

6 December 2021 5:40pm

Wow, Zamba looks like a great tool. I'm curious about the terms of data use and privacy of the data uploaded to Zamba by users. I couldn't find that info on the website, could you point me in the right direction?

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discussion

Advice needed: Beginner's Conservation Tech Starter Kit

Ellie Warren

22 September 2021 6:06pm

Hi Wildlabbers! Ellie here, using our forums to get my own advice from all of you for a change! As some of you know, I don't originally come from a conservation tech...

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Ellie Warren

5 October 2021 11:52pm

Hey Rob!

Thanks for all the tips! Getting 2 SD cards was a good reminder. I'd put extra batteries on my shopping list, but forgotten an extra SD card. Do you have a recommendation for a minimum SD card size?? I don't have any understanding of how long it'll take one of any size to completely fill up. 

I also think I'll try a little of both for video vs. still images, but the majority of it will probably be video to see how the squirrels are behaving/fighting. 

And I'm way ahead of you with the picnic table idea. These squirrels will be treated to some very fun props and dining opportunities along the way.

 

David Savage

8 October 2021 1:02am

Hey Ellie--

Glad to see you getting started with this. 

I'll speak to the data-storage question, it might be worth it for you to do something like paying for extra google drive space rather than go through the external hard drive process. That way you're ensuring you don't have to worry about losing your drive or just leaving it at home. It's $30 US for 200GB of space for a year, which is quite reasonable, especially for a single recorder / camera trap. 

I'd also make sure you have an SD card reader, and maybe a sealed card holder/wallet to keep data safe while it transitions from the field. How much to budget for batteries will depend on exactly what sensors you end up purchasing but in my experience, ordering high-end alkaline batteries is the best bet (for example, in the Duracell line, their Procell D batteries really do perform better than the normal consumer level coppertop batteries). I'd recommend playing around with the scheduler software for whatever acoustic sensor you end up obtaining to figure out whether you'll be limited by power or storage depending on how you set things up.

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discussion

Old camera traps go cellular

Robin Sandfort

6 February 2020 12:00pm

Hi there, did you see this new gadget: spypoint cell-link? This may give our old camera traps a new life. What do you think about it? Has anyone tried a prototype? Greetings...

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Rob Appleby

27 August 2021 4:30pm

Oh very cool Robin. Do you mind if I ask how much it is for the unit?

Antoine Ede

7 September 2021 5:18pm

Thank Capreolus,

for your feedback, did you try it where the cellular network is weak? 

Thank you.

 

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discussion

App Development Environment for Commercial Trail Cameras

Robert (Bob) Zak

1 July 2021 6:17pm

I have recently prototyped a programming environment that allows me to customize the firmware of a commercial trail camera (Browning BTC7A) by adding new functions/features...

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Rob Appleby

4 July 2021 12:27am

much appreesh @StephODonnell 

Robert (Bob) Zak

21 July 2021 12:40am

I've put together a short slide deck outlining the concept and status (see attached PowerPoint).  Critcally, I'm looking for a 1 to 3 "inaugural open source developers" to help launch the effort.   Ideally, these developers would be associated with a project in need of enhanced firmware. I've already spoken with @Alasdair about this, and it looks like there could be an opportunity based on one of his projects.  Please repond on this thread (or message me directly) if you know of anyone who might be interested or available.  Skillset looks like:

•C (C++?) for Feature Development

•Python (for tool development)

•Thread-X RTOS

•Embedded System Software Design

•GitHub/Colab/Open Source Development Environments

•Ability to Operate (and to help define) a Nascent Software Development Environment

Carly Batist

30 July 2021 2:18pm

@Freaklabs 

Akiba may be interested?

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discussion

How to dissociate the detector sensor from the camera in a camera trap surveyed area?

Matthieu Chastel

19 July 2021 8:36am

I want to film the reaction of a predator (wolf) attacking sheep equipped with a repellent. For that, I plan to place the sheep in a small enclosure keeping the sheep inside but...

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Egil Droge

19 July 2021 7:11pm

I think it would be technically possible. Something like the camera being put to sleep, and only activated when an outer sensor is triggered. I would be more worried about getting ethical approval for such a study where the aim is to have a live domestic animal being attacked by a predator in a confined space.

Matthieu Chastel

20 July 2021 10:18am

Hi Egil, indeed, ehtcial approaval is of course needed and I will ask for it for sure! (But note that it is hard to explain farmers that I need ethcial approuval for that project aiming at reducing attacks, while they get attacks every other weeks despite fences, livestock guarding dogs and/or shepherds !!).

Peter Apps

30 July 2021 12:29pm

My guess is that the camera triggering will prove to be far less of a challenge than getting ethical approval for penning livestock where predators can reach them. If you have such a high rate of wolf attacks in free-ranging flocks then you can directly measure the decrease in rate of attacks in flocks that have the repellent vs those that do not. 

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