New tools for monitoring biodiversity and environments

Ed BakerNatural History Museum

How can we do science when this..

…. becomes this .

What can we make machines do for us?

What can we measure?

http://ubidots.wordpress.com/2012/01/28/the-internet-and-the-nature-of-things/

Can we put the environment online?

http://ubidots.wordpress.com/2012/01/28/the-internet-and-the-nature-of-things/

The Internet of Things

http://ubidots.wordpress.com/2012/01/28/the-internet-and-the-nature-of-things/

Do we have to become hardware engineers as well now?

Do we have to become hardware engineers as well now?

• I’d recommend it. It’s fun building stuff.

Do we have to become hardware engineers as well now?

• I’d recommend it. It’s fun building stuff.

• Potential for collaboration outside of biology

Do we have to become hardware engineers as well now?

• I’d recommend it. It’s fun building stuff.

• Potential for collaboration outside of biology

• Take citizen science somewhere new: citizen engineering

CITIZEN ENGINEERING?

Once again – physics got there first

Hackers and makers

http://www.flickr.com/photos/fumi/3546898731/

Take a microcontroller

Plug in ethernet and SD card

Add some sensors

Write some code

Environmental data to Scratchpads

In terms of hardware – it’s crude

In terms of hardware – it’s crude

But the data is good data

In terms of hardware – it’s crude

But the data is good data

It’s cheap (pretty much disposable)

What about academic collaboration?

You can listen for bush crickets

Can we automate this?

In Situ Acoustic Monitoring of Biodiversity

Can we automate this?

Can we automate this?

Can we automate this?

Can we automate this?

Don’t stop there!

Don’t stop there!• Add a GPS! Location, but also time

Don’t stop there!• Add a GPS! Location, but also time

• Temperature, humidity, light levels

We can already do a lot if we collaborate

We can already do a lot if we collaborate

We need to think big in terms of scope, scale and speed

You can put a plant on Twitter

Why not a whole forest?

You can track a domestic cat

Why not track hundreds of individuals?