We’re constantly striving to develop and implement better tools to protect vulnerable species. For the most reliable monitoring, we often use a range of different non-invasive tools with slightly different capabilities Within our WildTrack Specialist Group we have expertise in a wide range of non-invasive and community-friendly tools, including footprint identification technology (FIT) using natural substrate or track plates, acoustics, camera-traps, eDNA and Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK).
We’re currently developing a mobile app, WildTrackAI, to allow users to collect footprint images in the field and relay straight to our cloud platform for AI inference. That inference will be relayed in real-time back to the user on the ground! At the simplest level this could enable one get a rapid species ID on a footprint . At the most sophisticated level one could identify an individual animal from a series of footprints along a trail, its age and sex, know who it was with, and if it was under threat from poachers, or human-wildlife conflict of another kind. This technology has the power to transform the way we collect, manage and interpret data for conservation!
Conservation from the ground up! Looking for cheetah footprints..
We’re also continuing to develop the world’s first AI analytical pipeline for automated ID of footprints and trails, new statistical techniques on our morphometrics platform, citizen-science portals and interfaces for a wide range of users. We are working hard to build user diversity into our community platform, including indigenous communities. Lastly, we’re building on-board AI capabilities into our drones to enable live aerial tracking of megaherbivores like the rhino whose trails can be seen from the air.
rhino prints along a dirt road in Namibia
Could you help us?
WildTrack is a non-profit organization offering free use of our technology to help our partner conservation projects monitor endangered species. We rely on grants, partners, donations, and volunteers like you to allow us to expand our work. Please consider donating or volunteering your time to help us grow!
We’re currently looking for volunteers who could offer 5 hours a week with expertise in the following fields:
Front and back-end web developers with Azure platform, Python/Flask and Mongo DB expertise
Database curation
UI/UX for our web interfaces
Educational and citizen-science materials and design
Social media management
Fundraising
Grant-writing
If you are interested in partnering or volunteering with us please contact us here.