Sensors already equip a range of tools to enhance monitoring capacity for conservation. Some of the higher bandwidth technologies, like camera traps and acoustic monitoring systems, have been essential elements of the conservation toolkit for decades, and thus have enough users that we've created dedicated WILDLABS groups to address them. But a whole range of lower bandwidth sensors beyond these core technologies are being increasingly integrated into conservation monitoring systems, and offer rich new insights into the wildlife and ecosystems we're all working to protect. As with many technologies, cost and access have historically been challenges to the adoption of new sensors, but with low-cost and open-source solutions on the rise, we're excited to see what the future of this space holds.
Getting Started with Sensors:
- Watch Shah Selbe's Tech Tutors episode on scaling FieldKit, an open-source conservation sensor toolbox, from a project to a successful conservation tech product.
- Check out our Virtual Meetup about Low-Cost, Open-Source Solutions in conservation tech, including a talk by Alasdair Davies on the Arribada Initiative's work with thermal sensors in early warning systems.
- For a more in-depth introduction, watch the first video in our datalogger mini-series: Freaklabs: How do I get started with Arduino?
In this group, you'll meet others who are using and innovating diverse sensors in their work, discuss ways to make sensors more effective & accessible for conservationists, learn about what sensors are already helping us accomplish in the field, and have the opportunity to ask and answer questions. Join this group to get started!
Header image: Emma Vogel, University of Tromsø
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- @jenlaw
- | She/Her
Biodiversity scientist specialising specialising in the study of tropical ecosystems and their biodiversity using multiple forms of technology, including acoustics, images and robotics.
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CEO of Anicare. Anicare produce next generation ear tag form tracking device for wildlife tracking
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- 1 Discussions
- 6 Groups
The University of Queensland
Passionate about using technology and data to solve conservation issues.
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- 9 Groups
- @jscanass
- | he/him
University College London (UCL) & Red Ecoacústica Colombiana
PhD Student at UCL
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- @parlaynu
- | he/him
software engineer
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Conservify
Community Manager for FieldKit
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Arribada Initiative
Director at Arribada, a UK-based conservation technology research & development organisation
- 2 Resources
- 101 Discussions
- 12 Groups
I run a small consulting company, Simeone Consulting, LLC, that provides research, data-driven analysis, technical expertise, and writing related to the production, consumption, and international trade of natural resources.
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- 4 Groups
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Careers
The Marine Innovation Lab for Leading-edge Oceanography develops hardware and software to expand the ocean observing network and for the sustainable management of natural resources. For Fall 2026, we are actively...
24 July 2025
Article
In this case, you’ll explore how the BoutScout project is improving avian behavioural research through deep learning—without relying on images or video. By combining dataloggers, open-source hardware, and a powerful...
24 June 2025
Careers
PhD position on bat acoustics and collective behavior
Blair Costelloe
PhD position available at the University of Konstanz in the Active Sensing Collective Group!
28 March 2025
Careers
Customer Support and Marketing Specialist
Thomas Gray
We are hiring for a customer support / marketing specialist.
20 February 2025
Funding
Osa Conservation is launching our inaugural cohort of the ‘Susan Wojcicki Research Fellowship’ for 2025, worth up to $15,000 per awardee (award value dependent on project length and number of awards given each year)....
10 February 2025
Link
New paper - "acoupi integrates audio recording, AI-based data processing, data management, and real-time wireless messaging into a unified and configurable framework. We demonstrate the flexibility of acoupi by...
7 February 2025
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SDZWA Conservation Tech Summer Fellowship
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The Conservation Technology Laboratory within the Population Sustainability department is seeking two fellows for summer 2025
5 February 2025
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What Are Innovative Technologies, and Why Should Conservationists Care?
Louisa Richmond-Coggan
Conservationists use tools like drones, satellites, and camera traps to monitor ecosystems and scale their impact. But new challenges like transparency, funding gaps, and engagement remain. Web 3.0 technologies offer...
28 January 2025
Article
INSTANT DETECT 2.0 - ALPHA TESTING
Sam Seccombe
The worst thing a new conservation technology can do is become another maintenance burden on already stretched field teams. This meant Instant Detect 2.0 had to work perfectly from day 1. In this update, Sam Seccombe...
28 January 2025
Article
INSTANT DETECT 2.0 – THE OPTIMISATION YEARS
Sam Seccombe
The Zoological Society of London's Instant Detect 2.0 is the world's first affordable satellite connected camera trap system designed by conservationists, for conservationists. In this update, Sam Seccombe describes the...
21 January 2025
Article
Over the years, a large number of developments have gone up in the area that I live in and the municipality is not doing what they should when it comes to upholding the laws that have been put in place to protect the...
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August 2025
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Louisa Richmond-Coggan
September 2025
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Louisa Richmond-Coggan
March 2026
December 2023
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| Description | Activity | Replies | Groups | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I came across this which looks like it might work for you.Others have mentioned Davis. I used the Davis vantage pro2 in a previous life, and the cabled version was about... |
+13
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Sensors | 1 year 8 months ago | |
| My suggestion would probably be a 3D printer and Solder Station with a stock of common components. With those two things you can solve most problems. |
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Community Base, Emerging Tech, Marine Conservation, Protected Area Management Tools, Sensors | 1 year 8 months ago | |
| Cheers @Lars_Holst_Hansen , yes, the antenna foam spacer idea certainly helped us a bit. I completely agree though that ruggedness, especially on a polar bear (a bit different... |
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Animal Movement, Sensors | 1 year 9 months ago | |
| Hi everyone, I wanted to provide an update on behalf of Wildlife Acoustics regarding some of these comments in this thread. As some of you may know, we have just announced... |
+19
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Acoustics, Sensors | 1 year 10 months ago | |
| This was one of my all time favourite Variety Hour talks! @wschan gave us an awesome walk through the open-source low cost acceleratometer... |
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Animal Movement, Open Source Solutions, Sensors | 1 year 10 months ago | |
| Makes sense if you have the cash... |
+8
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Animal Movement, Climate Change, Sensors, Build Your Own Data Logger Community, Emerging Tech | 1 year 10 months ago | |
| 'Gundi, meaning “glue” in Swahili, is a technology platform that allows conservationists to seamlessly integrate any hardware with any... |
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Data management and processing tools, Sensors, Software Development | 1 year 11 months ago | |
| Graeme, Maybe speak to a web IT expert. You may be able to have an interface on the webpage which provides the login credentials to the camera, but then passes the image (and... |
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Camera Traps, Sensors | 2 years ago | |
| Does anyone know of a network camera that can stream live video direct to a browser page without requiring a password? Our Nest Outdoor... |
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Camera Traps, Sensors | 2 years ago | |
| Hi all! I am a mechanical engineer working in the Aerospace Engineering department at a University, and I have the opportunity to take over... |
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Emerging Tech, Human-Wildlife Coexistence, Marine Conservation, Open Source Solutions, Sensors | 2 years 1 month ago | |
| Ben Letcher from the comment below will be able to provide much more in-depth info, but feel free to email me at eric.greenlee.96@gmail.com |
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East Africa Community, Sensors | 2 years 1 month ago | |
| Hi. I'm looking for an off-the-shelf saltwater switch for an undersea application. It needs to be depth rated Is there anything like this... |
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Marine Conservation, Sensors | 2 years 3 months ago |
Southern right whale superpod blows a hole in the record books
22 November 2018 12:00am
Camera traps designed for animals are now invading human privacy
22 November 2018 12:00am
A technologist's journey to protect wildlife: The reality and potential of conservation technology (recorded talk)
22 November 2018 12:00am
WILDLABS Virtual Meetup: Networked Sensors for Security and HWC Prevention
WILDLABS Team
12 November 2018 12:00am
WILDLABS Virtual Meetup Recording: Next Generation Wildlife Tracking
WILDLABS Team
12 November 2018 12:00am
Tusk Conservation Lecture 2018: Ted Schmitt
Tusk
15 October 2018 12:00am
Underwater Robot Trained to Kill Coral-Destroying Reef Starfish
18 September 2018 12:00am
Next Generation Animal Tracking Ideation Challenge
14 September 2018 12:00am
Thermal imaging, drones, and sea turtles: a case study using FLIR’s new Duo Pro R camera
23 August 2018 12:00am
How to share data on species to help conserve them… whilst avoiding them being exploited by poachers
20 August 2018 12:00am
Ocean Hack: San Francisco, 10-11th September, 2018
One Ocean Collab
20 August 2018 12:00am
Thermal Sensor Project Update: Testing with live animals at the San Diego Zoo
27 July 2018 12:00am
HWC Tech Challenge: Smart Electric Fence Solution
5 June 2018 12:00am
From drone swarms to tree batteries, new tech is revolutionising ecology and conservation
Euan Ritchie
and 1 more
9 May 2018 12:00am
Eddy Expedition Log: Characterizing Eddies
23 April 2018 12:00am
HWC Tech Challenge: Thermopile Sensor Project
19 April 2018 12:00am
Eddy Expedition Log: Chasing Eddies
10 April 2018 12:00am
What technologies could help us monitor cave invertebrates?
23 July 2016 8:44am
9 April 2018 2:35am
Hi Tony, I'm leading a cross disciplinary group of researchers at Deakin University in Australia to build new technology for monitoring wildlife and engage citizen scientists with collecting data.
We have designed a video trap for monitoring reptiles and amphibians, that uses constant video and has some on-board AI to not save video with nothing in it. Works day and night (UV illumination at night), but uses a lot of power so we have a battery and solar panel arrangement. I expect this could be easily adapted to monitor cave fauna. Let me know if you already have a solution or want to discuss idea further.
Don Driscoll
d.driscoll@deakin.edu.au
Thermal imaging scopes
26 March 2018 9:26pm
27 March 2018 2:20pm
Hi Luke,
I'll leave specific recommendations to others who are better qualified ( @Eric+Becker @Rachel+Kramer or @Alasdair - maybe you can advise?) but I did come across something yesterday that may be relevant.
There is a live GroupGets campaign on at the moment (2 days left) for DIY-theromocam kits - not a scope but could do the trick if your budget is restricted as it's under $300 and you're willing to dabble in DIY?
The DIY-Thermocam is a do-it-yourself infrared camera, based on the FLIR Lepton long-wave infrared sensor and the popular Teensy 3.6 ARM Cortex M4 MCU.
The aim of this project is to give private persons, educational institutes and companies access to a portable, affordable and customizable thermal imaging plattform.
There are various applications like finding heat leaks in the insulation of buildings, the analysis of electrical or mechanical components, the detection of persons / animals or even mounting it on a drone, together with the additional video out module.
Constructed as a self-assembly solution, the DIY-Thermocam allows you to take advantage of the versatile possibilities of thermal imaging and to save money at one go.
Everything, from software to hardware, is completely open-source. This allows everyone to modify or extend the functionalities of the device to their own needs.
GroupGets does now offer a complete self-assembly kit, so you don't have to worry about buying all the parts on your own.
A scientific paper is also available, giving an overview about the whole project and its capabilities.
Update: haraldg has written a nice set of tools for post-processing the thermal raw data files. Check it out here. He also published a short article about manual calibration here.
3 April 2018 3:39pm
Hi @Luke_edwards - I just had a chat with my colleagues @Eric+Becker and @ColbyLoucks at WWF who will get back to you with some recommendations from experience with the thermal scopes that we've explored for anti-poaching (FLIR TK and SCOUT III).
Great to see that you're pairing conservation dogs and thermal imaging for wildlife surveys in Australia. In order to select the most cost-effective thermal imaging scope for your needs, it's important to know the range that you require, density of vegetation and size of the species you are monitoring. Can you share a bit more information on your parameters?
3 April 2018 11:03pm
The current project is in open plains. From a handler perspective the distance will be from 20m -100m. I will be working at night so it will be looking for me target, the Plains Wanderer, a small bird. Also it would be used to see other native and domestic animals in the area.
Other projects range from open plains through to rain forests.
Eddy Expedition Log: Setting Off to Explore Eddies
3 April 2018 12:00am
The Plant-Powered Camera Trap Challenge
3 April 2018 12:00am
Hacking together DIY time-lapse soil cameras
29 March 2018 11:35am
#Tech4Wildlife Photo Challenge 2018: Our Top 10
3 March 2018 12:00am
Landsense Innovation Challenge
19 February 2018 12:00am
Technology Empowered Conservation Lecture Series
18 January 2018 12:00am
Instant Detect 2.0: A Connected Future for Conservation
17 January 2018 12:00am
Congratulations to Zoohackathon winners, team ODINN!
6 December 2017 12:00am
FIT Cheetahs
4 December 2017 12:00am
How The San Diego Zoo Is Using AI And Drones To Save Polar Bears
30 November 2017 12:00am
RaspberryPI
5 March 2016 7:35am
20 May 2016 11:10pm
Pi Zero get a little upgrade... Anyone need a camera trap?
http://petapixel.com/2016/05/19/5-raspberry-pi-zero-now-camera-compatible/
11 October 2017 10:09am
Hi All,
just sharing this for all those Raspberry Pi beginners like me, 91% off a training bundle
https://deals.thenextweb.com/sales/complete-raspberry-pi-3-2
2 November 2017 6:02pm
Also if you are still looking for a solution this was published earlier this year and gives recommendations for soundscape microphones : http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/2041-210X.12678/full
31 March 2023 2:15pm