Open Conservation

How to get more from your tracking tools without paying more for them!

Who We AreGROUND Lab

GROUND Lab is a Research and Development company focused on creating innovative sustainable solutions for social, environmental and humanitarian challenges.

GROUND Lab has designed and fabricated prototypes and solutions for a wide range of clients, ranging from large organizations like UNICEF and Universities, to smaller NGOs, Researchers, Conservationists and Artists.

Some Of Our ProjectsDevice XAnd open, mobile, networked device for collecting and computing medical data in real time from remote health clinics in Uganda. In collaboration with:

Shared SolarAn open source hardware platform to be included in a smart cellphone controlled solar system to power 20 homes in remote villages in Mali. In collaboration with:

Remote Solar SystemA system of solar panels developed and installed in southern Kenya to provide power to the new Living with Lions research camp.

Solar Powered Tree HouseBuilt to provide living quarters for the Living With Lions research team.

Open SourceWhat is it, really?

Open Source Definitions

• “Open source hardware is hardware whose design is made publicly available so that anyone can study, modify, distribute, make and sell the design or hardware based on that design.” From Open Hardware Summit Definition.

• “Open source hardware gives people the freedom to control their technology while sharing knowledge and encouraging commerce through the open exchange of designs.” From Open Hardware Summit Definition.

• “Open source is a development method for software that harnesses the power of distributed peer review and transparency of process. The promise of open source is better quality, higher reliability, more flexibility, lower cost, and an end to predatory vendor lock-in.” From Open Source Initiative.

“Monkey See Monkey Do”Open source is just a m o r e i n f o r m e d practice of “monkey see monkey do”.

This social interaction is what has allowed our species as well as numerous others to quickly adapt and implement survival strategies.

Open source leverages the same interaction and knowledge sharing willingness, and builds on the practice of learning from watching others.

Biologist Carel van Schaik observed this interaction in Sumatran orangutans and noticed how the most prolific tool-using populations were the ones where the population at large supported the ability to watch tool-use among individuals.

Wikipedia and Wikis

• Wikipedia is a collaborative, web-based encyclopedia. It creates a space where knowledge is shared in order to be expanded upon, used, modified for any purpose such as profit, non profit, research or passion.

• Wikis are websites, like Wikipedia, that allow the easy creation and editing of interlinked web pages. They are often used to create collaborative websites, for remote note-taking or for corporate knowledge management and sharing.

Open Software• Linux is a free Operating System that can be

installed on a wide variety of computer hardware, ranging from mobile phones, tablet computers and video game consoles to supercomputers. It runs the 10 fastest supercomputers in the world and lots of netbooks and smartphones thanks to embedded Linux. The development of Linux is one of the greatest examples of open source collaboration.

• MySQL is a relational database management system that runs as a server providing multi-user access to a number of databases.

Open Hardware• Arduino is an open source electronics prototyping platform based on

flexible, easy to use hardware and software. It’s intended for artists, designers, hobbyists and anyone interested in creating interactive objects and environments.

• SparkFun is a for profit company founded with the goal of ‘Sharing Ingenuity’. SparkFun sells electronic components and o ffe rs easy documentation and tutorials that help artists, engineers, designers and hobbyists build their own projects.

Open vs. FreeR ProjectR is a software environment for s t a t i s t i c a l c o m p u t i n g a n d graphics. It runs on a wide variety of operating systems. It is open sou rce , has many donors , c o n t r i b u t o r s a n d a l a r g e community of users.

Cyber Trackeris a free software for GPS field data collections. It can run on smartphones or computers that run Windows. It only has one contributor and limited donors.

Open Source Benefits• Open Innovation has often out-paced and challenged the more

traditional development strategies.

• The Open Source approach creates an active community and central knowledge base, which is self-sustaining and supported through continued use of the information contained.

• Open Innovation often leads to the creation of tools that can be more reliable and stable.

• This method can be very cost effective since a multitude of applications and projects are driving the development. The ability to create a physical prototype early, by building on the shoulders of others, is also a great resource for more successful fundraising.

• Peer review and accessible documentation provide a deeper understanding of how the tools function and therefore allow more flexibility and freedom in customization and repair.

Open TechnologiesApplied to Wildlife Conservation

Field ObservationsThe Open Source Lion Tracking Collar project resulted from observations made while building a research camp for the The Living with Lions and Lion Guardians Program in Kenya.

• The most effective conservation techniques are those that look at the ecosystem as a whole, putting an emphasis on data sharing between multi field research. Open Source development enhances data sharing by implementing shared knowledge bases and common protocols.

• All information gathered about the local environment - from elephant data, to cattle and soil moisture data - is being collected with similar processes and tool chains. When using common tools, peer-driven open development becomes viable because there are enough users to support the creation of new technologies.

Specific Applications

Specific Applications

1. High cost of current technologies reduces the population that can be tracked and limits the application of the tools.

Specific Applications

1. Through open documentation, projects can consolidate resources, lowering development costs and challenging market prices for existing products.

Specific Applications

1. Through open documentation, projects can consolidate resources, lowering development costs and challenging market prices for existing products.

2. Hard to customize for a specific application.

Specific Applications

1. Through open documentation, projects can consolidate resources, lowering development costs and challenging market prices for existing products.

2. Open documentation and open design allow the user to change targeted parts of the tool chain to fit the needs of a specific project.

Specific Applications

1. Through open documentation, projects can consolidate resources, lowering development costs and challenging market prices for existing products.

2. Open documentation and open design allow the user to change targeted parts of the tool chain to fit the needs of a specific project.

3. Data sharing is limited or impossible.

3. Thanks to shared knowledge bases, it is easier to reach a common protocol for data aggregation and sharing.

Specific Applications

1. Through open documentation, projects can consolidate resources, lowering development costs and challenging market prices for existing products.

2. Open documentation and open design allow the user to change targeted parts of the tool chain to fit the needs of a specific project.

3. Thanks to shared knowledge bases, it is easier to reach a common protocol for data aggregation and sharing.

Specific Applications

1. Through open documentation, projects can consolidate resources, lowering development costs and challenging market prices for existing products.

2. Open documentation and open design allow the user to change targeted parts of the tool chain to fit the needs of a specific project.

4. No ability to personally or locally repair the tools.

4. Peer review, in the form of Wikis, forums and open documentation make the tools easier to understand, repair and troubleshoot.

3. Thanks to shared knowledge bases, it is easier to reach a common protocol for data aggregation and sharing.

Specific Applications

1. Through open documentation, projects can consolidate resources, lowering development costs and challenging market prices for existing products.

2. Open documentation and open design allow the user to change targeted parts of the tool chain to fit the needs of a specific project.

4. Peer review, in the form of Wikis, forums and open documentation make the tools easier to understand, repair and troubleshoot.

3. Thanks to shared knowledge bases, it is easier to reach a common protocol for data aggregation and sharing.

Specific Applications

1. Through open documentation, projects can consolidate resources, lowering development costs and challenging market prices for existing products.

2. Open documentation and open design allow the user to change targeted parts of the tool chain to fit the needs of a specific project.

5. No scalability of projects due to high costs.

5. Open source reduces development cost making it possible to track and study a larger population.

4. Peer review, in the form of Wikis, forums and open documentation make the tools easier to understand, repair and troubleshoot.

3. Thanks to shared knowledge bases, it is easier to reach a common protocol for data aggregation and sharing.

Specific Applications

1. Through open documentation, projects can consolidate resources, lowering development costs and challenging market prices for existing products.

2. Open documentation and open design allow the user to change targeted parts of the tool chain to fit the needs of a specific project.

Lion Guardians

The first applications we are focusing on for the Lion Guardians Program are:

• Tracking the Lion Guardians while they gather observation data;

• Tracking livestock in the Southern Kenya Maasai Land.

Technical Overview Of The Tracking Project

Our goal is to develop a low cost tracking device to track wildlife, transmit the location data via cellphone network to the web in real time, with the possibility of contacting Maasai herders if lions are approaching their livestock.

System Overview

System Overview

System Overview

System Overview

System Overview

System Overview

System Overview

System Overview

TRACKING DEVICE

GPS SATELLITES CELLPHONE NETWORK

MAASAI

RESEARCHERS

Open Tracking HardwareThe tracking devices that we are currently developing use a Sirfstar III satellite-based GPS module to track position location.

The device/collar connects to a cellphone network (like AT&T, T-Mobile or Safaricom in Kenya) through a Telit GSM module via SMS or GPRS data transfers.

An Atmel microchip provides power saving capabilities and logic control, allowing the researcher to modify the device and add sensors in future implementations.

Open Tracking Software

An Open Source C/C++ Library for Atmel microcontrollers as well as for the Arduino platforms to access the GPS and GSM/GPRS functionality of these modules.

An easy to use MySQL database and server script that pulls the data uploaded to the network from the devices and aggregates it in an easy to use way.

Open Tracking Online

Wiki & Online Resources A Website www.opensourcetracking.org, Wiki and Forum are also being developed to document the technology and provide a shared space where people can find tutorials and where they can ask questions, troubleshoot and share their experiences and reviews of tracking technologies in use.

A Java based online visualization tool that implements Google Earth/Maps to retrieve and graphically represent the location data stored in the database.

A second visualization tool will come at a later date and will focus on implementing an ARC GIS or R plug-in to address the needs of the researchers' community.

How To Help Us Help U?This project began as a self-started, self-funded project to make an affordable and customizable tracking device. Thanks to the great interest it received we realized it could it could be fruitful and beneficial to the community at large and for many different applications.

How to help:• We are still compiling resources, therefore if you are interested in these

technologies please share your thoughts with us. We are particularly interested in:

- How people use these technologies and their current issues.

- How documentation could be better formatted.

- What information is important for you to visualize.

• We are always looking for places and projects we can apply these technologies to.

• Any suggestions on Grants or other resources for the development of tracking

applications would be really appreciated.

• Spread the knowledge!

Thank You! From Justin & Benedetta

www.opensourcetracking.orgwww.groundlab.cc

feel free to email us@grndlab.com

Living With Lionswww.lionconservation.org