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Want to talk about sensors that don't quite fit into any of our tech-specific groups? This is the place to post! From temperature and humidity to airflow and pressure sensors, there are many environmental sensing tools that can add valuable data to core conservation monitoring technologies. With the increasing availability of low-cost, open-source options, we've seen growing interest in integrating these kinds of low bandwidth sensors into existing tools. What kinds of sensors are you working with?

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Thermal Sensor Project Update: Testing with live animals at the San Diego Zoo

Arribada Initiative

27 July 2018 12:00am

The winners of our Human Wildlife Conflict Tech Challenge are offering regular updates throughout the year to chronicle their failures, successes and what they learn along the way as they develop their solutions. In...

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Lars Holst Hansen

31 March 2023 2:15pm

Hi Anne!Interesting with the vaccum seal issue!When looking at the sensor comparison images, it seems like there is not only a difference in noise (or SNR). The Heimann 80x64 also...
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Eddy Expedition Log: Chasing Eddies

WILDLABS Team

10 April 2018 12:00am

This month, we're following along with the scientists and engineers from the Simons Collaboration on Ocean Processes and Ecology (SCOPE) and the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) who working together to...

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discussion

What technologies could help us monitor cave invertebrates?

Tony Whitten

23 July 2016 8:44am

How can we measure and monitor the biodiversity of caves in a non-destructive manner without having to visit every day or even every month?  We, the IUCN...

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Don Driscoll

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

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discussion

Thermal imaging scopes

Luke Edwards

26 March 2018 9:26pm

I have rad the threads already posted and I was wandering if people have had experiences with thermal scopes. I have seen them range from AU$600 to above and beyond $30K. My...

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Stephanie O'Donnell

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? 

DIY-Thermocam Kit (Round 12)

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.

Rachel Kramer

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? 

Luke Edwards

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. 

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funding

The Plant-Powered Camera Trap Challenge

Alasdair Davies

3 April 2018 12:00am

Are you an architect, engineer, designer or a scientist? Can you design and manufacture a prototype open source plant-BES (bio electrochemical system) to power a camera trap and environmental sensors in tropical forests...

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article

FIT Cheetahs

Larissa Slaney

4 December 2017 12:00am

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

RaspberryPI

Adam Bloch

5 March 2016 7:35am

I’m sure you are all aware of the different open source hardware that has become available. These are lightweight small computers that are designed to allow anyone from...

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Adam Bloch

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/

 

 

Philine von Guretzky

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

 

Heather Wood

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 

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article

HWC Tech Challenge Winners Announced

WILDLABS Team

1 November 2017 12:00am

We are delighted to announce that British conservation technologist Alasdair Davies and the Dutch team of Laurens de Groot and Tim van Dam from the ShadowView Foundation are the winners of the first international Human...

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HWC Tech Challenge Update: Meet the Judges

WILDLABS Team

20 October 2017 12:00am

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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article

How to lose a BRUV in 10 days

Dr. Ivy Baremore

26 September 2017 12:00am

As pressure on marine resources increases, fishers have to explore deeper and deeper waters to make a living. What does this mean for Belize’s deep-sea sharks? In an effort to understand the threats to these animals,...

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article

Elephant's Banquet

Femke Hilderink

19 September 2017 12:00am

Human-wildlife conflict can be difficult to understand without knowing its impact on people and communities. In this case study, authored by community member and Human Wildlife Conflict Tech Challenge coordinator Femke...

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discussion

Thermal cameras and wildlife

John Probert

26 July 2017 6:51pm

Hello sensors group! I recently saw this fascinating video on thermal imaging of elephants in the Dzangha Sangha Protected Area in CAR. It was really fascinating to me, and it...

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John Probert

26 July 2017 8:33pm

Oh, cool! It'd be interesting seeing if it could be used for tracking as well. I've used some handheld cameras and looked at footprints, but those disappeared pretty quickly. 

Roland Kays

21 August 2017 12:17pm

 

Abstract here from the IMC Congress in Perth, they found the higher-res versions are much better than the less expensive (e.g. iphone) versions when it comes to finding animals. 

Now you see me: How thermal imaging increases detection of cryptic nocturnal mammals in tropical regions

Avril Underwood1 , Mia Dehre-Miller2 1. James Cook University, Smithfield, Queensland, Australia 2.

University of Lancaster, Lancaster, United Kingdom Accurate measures of species abundance and distribution underpin effective wildlife management and conservation strategies. Obtaining these data is very challenging when researching the cryptic nocturnal arboreal mammals of in the dense forest of the Wet Tropics. Our research shows that using a hand-held thermal imager significantly increases the detection rate of all mid-sized arboreal mammals when compared to the most commonly used method of spotlighting. We determine the optimal environmental and mechanical parameters for thermal imaging, and we investigate ‘cost-versus-result’ of hand-held imaging devices currently available on the market. We suggest that hand-held thermal imaging is a great emerging technology for cryptic arboreal mammal detection across tropical forested regions and beyond.

Roland Kays

21 August 2017 12:20pm

My own experience is with the FLIR iphone attachment, just informal testing, but hasn't been that great at finding animals.  I also think it would work better in the early AM.  In the evening there can still be a lot of rocks and trees still warm from the sun.

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