17 June. 2021
In recent years, we have assisted in a rapid technological development in the fields of remote sensing and animal telemetry. This has provided valuable tools towards wildlife monitoring. However, we are still facing several challenges.
The analysing of extensive volume of data and comprehending animal’s activity/behaviour is for some aspects prohibitive. Based on that, identifying ecological processes is a complex task that is requiring heterogeneous types of data, e.g., video, accelerometer, position, temperature, humidity etc.
Finally, all this needs to be deployed into a system that does not interfere with the natural behavior of the animal and at the same time is safe while providing enough self-battery sustainability.
WildEye aims to provide a solution to these challenges through the development of a smart system for wildlife monitoring. It will combine small animal borne sensors with visual data from an onboard camera so as to better comprehend animal behaviour. The WildEye system includes an animal borne device bearing sensors and camera, a server for storing data and an online platform. The platform’s user-friendly interface will allow users (researchers) to interact with the animal borne device upon request and based on specific needs of the monitoring species.
The WildEye initiative is a collaboration between the CYENS DeepCamera Research Group and Terra Cypria – The Cyprus Conservation Foundation.
The idea behind WildEye origins from the project ReTrack (POST-DOC/0916/0034), which aims to establish methods and techniques able to advance wildlife’s site level management. ReTrack project is co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund and the Republic of Cyprus through the Research and Innovation Foundation. WildEye has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under Grant Agreement No 739578 and the Government of the Republic of Cyprus through the Deputy Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy.
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