
creating Tools to Make Conservationists more Powerful in their goal to Protect the environment
What We do
We are a non-profit organization using best of breed open source tools to develop hardware, software and analysis. Our goal is to make everyone working in conservation 10 to 100 times more effective by using digital tools so we can dramatically improve the impact we can make.
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We design devices specifically targeted at NZs long term conservation goals
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Devices are more powerful if easy tools to understand what’s going on in built into their design
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We don’t have all the answers but as we find out things we write brief articles and pose questions. You can see years of us thinking aloud in out list of blog posts.
Our Devices
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Thermal Camera
Existing trail cameras are designed for larger animals like pigs and deer. Our DOC AI cam is specifically designed for fast moving small animials eg rats, stoats, possums etc. If you want to know what is going on you need to try one of these. Typically you will see 10+ times more rodents, 3+ times more possums and feral cats. The AI classification means you no longer need to sit through hours of videos or photos but you can immediately get a report of what is out there and how it is changing over time.
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Bird Monitor
Our previous brid monitor was not a good design so we no longer make it. We have learned from that and have a new version coming in the new year
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High Interaction rate trap
Watching tens of thousands of videos of predators interacting with old style traps convinced us incremental improvements to these will not make much difference. The traditional bait and kill is a bit like fishing with a hook and bait - you can catch lots but will never catch everything. Our new approach is more like a set net that is much more effective at catching everything.
Our Software
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Online data storage and analysis platform
Data management and analysis is built into our design. No more SD cards and manual data transfer as all data from our devices is automatically given dates, times, GPS and uploaded to the online platform. The range of tools and analysis is continually improving as we get more data and AI tools improve.
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Phone app
Modern smart devices like speakers, security cameras, lights now typically have an app for doing the setup and monitoring etc. We have created an app that works with all our devices to that links with our online platform to make settings up, managing and getting the most out of your devices easy and quick.
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Notification system
You can set up a range of email notifications to know when any of the following happen
different types of predators are detected
Devices need updating (eg batteries or malfunctions etc)
traps have been activated
Our Analysis
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Cacophony Blog
Over 80? blog posts more than
Highlights include
scent trails
how poor current camears are at
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2040 Blog
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Newsletter
Combo…..