Ten years ago, we couldn't have imagined how tools like machine learning, eDNA, and satellites would advance and transform conservation work. Now technology is advancing faster than ever, and as tools become smaller, lighter, and more affordable, it's vital to have a space where community members can discuss the next big thing, share ideas, compare tool options, and tell the story of their experiences - positive, negative, and anything in between - while using new technologies.
In 2021, the WILDLABS State of Conservation Tech report detailed what tools show the most promise according to community members, as well as what tools are currently seen as the most effective. And as new tools enter the field, we're excited to see how this data will change over time, and how this group grows over time as well.
Our State of Conservation Tech research also discusses something called the "Hype Cycle" - the pattern that occurs when a new technology bursts onto the scene, promises to be an exciting solution, encounters challenges as new users adopt the tool and put it into practice beyond just theory, and eventually settles into its most effective state as users acquire the right skills to use it to its actual potential. Machine learning, one of the most promising technologies, is currently in the middle of its own hype cycle, and we see community members working through their own hurdles to incorporate ML into their work effectively. Despite what you may think, this Hype Cycle can also be positive for tech development, as it means that users have big ideas for new tools, and with the right resources and skills, they can work toward bringing those ideas to life. And as our community members experiences the Hype Cycle for various tools at their own paces, we hope this group will also serve as a place to discuss that process and overcome hurdles together.
Ready to discover new possibilities? Join our Emerging Tech group now and get to know your forward-thinking conservation tech peers!
Header photo: Internet of Elephants
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- @bioNathan
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Innovation Design Engineer studying at MSc + MA level. Previously a Robotics engineer with specialisms in remote sensing, control systems & electronics design. Transitioning to ecological contexts. I use bioinspiration to inform tech design, both product & infrastructure.
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Tech 4 Conservation
President, Tech 4 Conservation
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- @donovantye
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Savanna Ecologist, Field Station Director and Head of Conservation Tech Projects for Organization for Tropical Studies (OTS).
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I am a geneticist with a long term interest in using DNA markers to combat wildlife crime.
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- @shannondubay
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Panthera
Director of Conservation Technology at Panthera
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Adventure Scientists is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization based in Bozeman, MT that equips scientists and researchers with high-quality data collected from the outdoors that are crucial to addressing environmental challenges around the world.
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- @DanielHugelmann
- | He / Him
Hi, I'm the co-founder of OceanLabs Seychelles. We design and build environmental and marine remote sensing devices for conservation NGOs. As an engineer and avid diver, with a love for the environment, connecting conservation and technology was the natural thing to do!
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Background in Computer Science, Developing Acoustic AI Tech at Synature
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- @chmod000
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I build sensing and perceiving hardware that is designed to address issues that matter to me. That ranges from assistive technologies, to conservation ecology, and connecting individuals with place and each other.
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- @DBayley
- | He/him
Fauna & Flora & University College London (UCL)
I'm a tropical marine ecologist, specialising in coral reefs, MPAs, and blue carbon. Within conservation technology my focus has been around developing underwater imaging techniques, primarily to assist coral reef monitoring
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Funding
The Coral Research & Development Accelerator Platform opened it's Coral Accelerator Program 2024 for internationally collaborating teams to apply with innovative projects ranging from 'novel early-phase' to 'final...
26 August 2024
Article
Join us for Season Five of the WILDLABS Virtual Meetup Series, tuning in to the world of Bioacoustics! Laying the groundwork for our new horizon scan research, each event will convene cross-sector experts to explore a...
22 August 2024
Article
Join us in celebrating this year’s Judging Panele Award winners!
19 August 2024
Article
Join us in celebrating this year’s Community Choice Award winners!
15 August 2024
Article
Vote for your favorite submissions that best demonstrate conservation impact, novel innovation/discovery, and strong storytelling of the work and the sector.
12 August 2024
Link
AI Based Animal Detection Demo App for iPhone
Robert (Bob) Zak
In this post, I describe an animal recognition demonstration app I developed for the iPhone. The “MegaDetector-Demo” app uses the latest “MegaDetector” animal detector model from PyTorch-Wildlife to identify animals,...
11 August 2024
Article
Listen to the Future: A Bioacoustics Horizon Scan
Vanesa Reyes
We are thrilled to introduce our new horizon scan, which will chart the future of bioacoustics. By collectively prioritizing emerging innovations that could transform the field, we aim to build consensus, facilitate...
5 August 2024
Link
Rapid Camera Trap labeling with ChatGPT
Sara Olsson
Hi all, I've published a blog post on rapidly labeling camera trap data using ChatGPT for species identification and a simple object detection model to get the bounding boxes. While presented in Edge Impulse, this...
17 July 2024
Article
Enter to win a free thermal camera!
Alex Rood
WILDLABS is partnering with FLIR to give away a FLIR ONE Edge Pro to 5 community members.
26 June 2024
Article
Case Study: Drone-based radio-tracking of Eastern Bandicoots
Wildlife Drones
Wildlife Drones was deployed by Zoos Victoria in a trial project tracking captive-bred Eastern Barred Bandicoots that were tagged and released into the wild
14 June 2024
Funding
€4,000 travel grants are available for researchers interested in insect monitoring using automated cameras and computer vision
6 June 2024
Article
New WILDLABS Funding & Finance group
Frank van der Most
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
June 2025
event
Nalini
event
Joel Masselink
July 2025
December 2023
| Description | Activity | Replies | Groups | Updated |
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| Hi @Sicily_Fiennes,Over the past several years, I have explored how to design engaging and useful tools for the exploration of audio recording to locate calls of a particular bird... |
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Conservation Tech Training and Education, Emerging Tech | 2 years 3 months ago | |
| 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... |
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Camera Traps, Emerging Tech, Open Source Solutions | 2 years 3 months ago | |
| 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... |
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AI for Conservation, Animal Movement, Camera Traps, Conservation Tech Training and Education, Data management and processing tools, Drones, Emerging Tech, Sensors | 2 years 4 months ago | |
| Hello All - @sarabeery et Al have just put a pre-print out on their educational insights into teaching Computer Vision to ecologists. I... |
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Acoustics, AI for Conservation, Conservation Tech Training and Education, Early Career, Emerging Tech | 2 years 4 months ago | |
| intrested. |
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Community Base, Data management and processing tools, Early Career, Emerging Tech | 2 years 4 months ago | |
| Thanks Alice, it does! |
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Early Career, Emerging Tech | 2 years 5 months ago | |
| 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 |
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AI for Conservation, Camera Traps, Emerging Tech, Ethics of Conservation Tech, Human-Wildlife Conflict, Geospatial, Sensors | 2 years 5 months ago | |
| Hi Steph. Would be interested also. |
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Animal Movement, Community Base, Connectivity, Data management and processing tools, Emerging Tech, Geospatial | 2 years 5 months ago | |
| Hey Sol, The only way for you to collect information from a GPS tag attached to a FAD is if that tag transmits that data to the drone. Unfortunately most receiver packages... |
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Drones, Emerging Tech, Open Source Solutions | 2 years 6 months ago | |
| Out of curiosity, what are the similarities/differences between your platform and other image classification ones such as Wildlife Insights, WildID, ZambaCloud? I don't mean that... |
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AI for Conservation, Emerging Tech | 2 years 7 months ago | |
| Hi Everyone,We chose sigfox becuase it seems to have better range and is plug-play, whereas LoRa requires more custom programming and updating. Getting a gateway cost us $... |
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Animal Movement, Build Your Own Data Logger Community, Camera Traps, Connectivity, Emerging Tech, Sensors | 2 years 7 months ago | |
| I'd be ecstatic if a nest box or natural tree hollow (or burrow) monitoring device could be developed. Infrared images/video and sound recording, either triggered by motion... |
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Emerging Tech | 2 years 7 months ago |
