Figuring out what technology to use to monitor a species you’re studying? Or maybe you’re developing a new tech product for conservation and are in need of some help? There’s now a tech tool for that, bringing together those who use conservation tech out in the field with those who develop it. Developed by a team at conservation technology community WildLabs, the Inventory is Wikipedia-style platform for everything conservation technology. Scientists, conservationists and researchers need only search like they would on Wikipedia to get details on what technology they can deploy for their work. They can also get information on the best products in the market, along with reviews and tips from other scientists who may have used the product in the past. “The main motivation was people in our community telling us that it’s just hard for them to find systematic, consolidated information,” Jake Burton, project officer at WildLabs, told Mongabay in a video interview. In recent decades, scientists have deployed a wide array of tech tools to monitor, track and study biodiversity around the world. As uptake has increased, conservationists and technologists have further developed and adapted things like acoustic recorders, camera traps, drones and artificial intelligence models to meet their requirements. However, researchers often work in silos, unaware of developments in other parts of the world. “One of the big issues that our sector faces is that information can sometimes be dispersed and hard to find versus in other sectors,” Alex Rood, communications and community management associate…This article was originally published on Mongabay
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