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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University of Adelaide
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TerrOïko
PhD Student in statistical ecology
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- @shana
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I am a Senior Research Scientist in the Department of Human Centered Design and Engineering at the University of Washington. I am a researcher with the eDNA Collaborative and Co-Director of the Pacific Marine Energy Center.
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Wildlife manager. Specialized in mammals, new technologies and abundance estimation
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- @catwasp
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Ph.D Speech-Hearing Sciences; 3D Designer/Printer interested in building/testing/deploying standardized environmental recording platforms for scientists and engineers in developing countries.
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- @IsobelAshbey
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Running a Tech for Good initiative at Cambridge Consultants, looking for organisations who need help developing new technology for conservation
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Dr JOhn Read is founder and CEO of Conservation Innovation company Thylation, and founder and director of several adaptive management conservation projects . www.ecologicalhorizons.com, www.thylation.com, www.johnlread.com
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Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB)
A technologist and a conservationist
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Funding
The Plant-Powered Camera Trap Challenge
Alasdair Davies
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...
3 April 2018
Article
#Tech4Wildlife Photo Challenge 2018: Our Top 10
WILDLABS Team
Hundreds of people joined our #Tech4Wildlife photo challenge this year, showcasing all the incredible ways tech is being used to support wildlife conservation. We've seen proximity loggers on Tasmanian Devils in...
3 March 2018
Funding
Landsense Innovation Challenge
WILDLABS Admin
Empowering communities to monitor & report on their environment
19 February 2018
Article
‘The Field’… Say the words ‘The Field’ to a group of conservationists and it will immediately conjure up vivid memories of everything from sticky wet rainforests to burning dusty deserts. What’s more, it’s almost...
17 January 2018
Article
Congratulations to Zoohackathon winners, team ODINN!
Zoological Society London (ZSL)
Following the UK Government’s landmark announcement of plans to introduce a complete ban on the domestic trade in ivory, it was fitting that a new machine learning product designed to tackle the supply end of this...
6 December 2017
Article
FIT Cheetahs
Larissa Slaney
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...
4 December 2017
Article
With Arctic sea ice disappearing, can advanced sensor technologies provide insights into an ecosystem on the brink?
30 November 2017
Article
HWC Tech Challenge Winners Announced
WILDLABS Team
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...
1 November 2017
Article
HWC Tech Challenge Update: Meet the Judges
WILDLABS Team
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...
20 October 2017
Article
Download New Conservation Tech Guidelines: Camera Traps, Acoustics and LiDAR
Paul Glover-Kapfer
The inherent complexity of not only deploying technologies in the field but also doing so in a scientifically rigorous manner can prove a substantial barrier for the effective use of conservation technologies, and clear...
11 October 2017
Article
Kids, Drones & Science At The Water’s Edge
WILDLABS Team
It’s one thing to hear that a project is working, it’s another thing entirely to see the data brought to life. Using submersible and aerial drones, as well as scientists with snorkels and digital cameras, The Nature...
4 October 2017
Article
DAS: A Scaleable Solution For Protected Area Management
WILDLABS Team
The Domain Awareness System (DAS) is a revolution in monitoring technology, creating real-time awareness of protected areas assets. This technology has the potential to completely change standard monitoring procedures...
26 September 2017
November 2023
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| Description | Activity | Replies | Groups | Updated |
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| Would certainly be cool to see a tutorial on this! Looking forward to that! |
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Marine Conservation, Sensors | 3 years 8 months ago | |
| Almost done with the trap alarms. I added an additional buzzer (with internal circuitry) to get more noise. The added benefit is that the slightly different tunes creates... |
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Sensors | 4 years ago | |
| Hi Barry, I am tinkering with similar edge devices and aspirations! I recently acquired the Jetson Nano to start testing some aspects of the BearID Project software pipeline.... |
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Connectivity, Sensors | 4 years 2 months ago | |
| Thanks for the paper Harold, this looks like a possibility. Especially if there's a way to make bespoke detectors |
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Sensors | 4 years 2 months ago | |
| Hi everyone, I'm building some small audio attachments to pop onto Vectronics collars. Does anyone have dummy or... |
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Sensors | 4 years 2 months ago | |
| Really interesting chat. I was looking at this "eTape" to measure inundation on marine turtle nests. https://www.adafruit.com/product/463 Will give you water presence... |
+10
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Sensors | 4 years 6 months ago | |
| Have you ever wanted to get a sample from the top of a tree, without having to climb it or shoot it out with a shotgun? Would it... |
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Sensors | 4 years 6 months ago | |
| Hello Rob, I have seen the bracelet style used on large mammals with mixed success and failure. The main considerations are terrain the animal uses, and fitting the bracelet... |
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Sensors | 4 years 6 months ago | |
| Amazing stuff Andrew! The dips in light idea made me think of exoplanet hunting straight away! Such a cool idea!! |
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Sensors | 4 years 7 months ago | |
| Hi Akiba No worries, thanks for responding! I'd love to delve into more detail on this once the new series has started and I have an idea of the tools and kit required!... |
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Open Source Solutions, Sensors | 4 years 8 months ago | |
| Hi Maxine, There are pros and cons to switching regulators and linear regulators. Linear regulators "throw away" the excess voltage in order to maintain a... |
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Open Source Solutions, Sensors | 4 years 8 months ago | |
| Hi. I've been following the opencollar initiative and was wondering what the current status is. The project looks amazing! |
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Sensors | 4 years 9 months ago |
