Prince, Peter, Hill, Andrew, Pina Covarrubias, Evelyn, Doncaster, Charles, Snaddon, Jake and Rogers, Alex (2019) Deploying acoustic detection algorithms on low-cost, open-source acoustic sensors for environmental monitoring. Sensors, 19 (3). (doi:10.3390/s19030553).
Abstract
Conservation researchers require low-cost access to acoustic monitoring technology. However, affordable tools are often constrained to short-term studies due to high energy consumption and limited storage. To enable long-term monitoring, energy and space efficiency must be improved on such tools. This paper describes the development and deployment of three acoustic detection algorithms that reduce the power and storage requirements of acoustic monitoring on affordable, open-source hardware. The algorithms aim to detect bat echolocation, to search for evidence of a endangered cicada species, and to collect evidence of poaching in a protected nature reserve. The algorithms are designed to run on AudioMoth: a low-cost, open-source acoustic monitoring device, developed by the authors and widely adopted by the conservation community. Each algorithm addresses a detection task of increasing complexity – implementing extra analytical steps to account for environmental conditions such as wind, analysing samples multiple times to prevent missed events, and incorporating a hidden Markov model for sample classification in both the time and frequency domain. For each algorithm we report on real-world deployments carried out with partner organisations and also benchmark the hidden Markov model against a convolutional neural network, a deep-learning technique commonly used for acoustics. The deployments demonstrate how acoustic detection algorithms extend the use of low-cost, open-source hardware and facilitate a new avenue for conservation researchers to perform large-scale monitoring.
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- Current Faculties > Faculty of Environmental and Life Sciences > School of Biological Sciences > Ecology and Evolution
School of Biological Sciences > Ecology and Evolution - Faculties (pre 2018 reorg) > Faculty of Natural and Environmental Sciences (pre 2018 reorg) > Biological Sciences (pre 2018 reorg)
Current Faculties > Faculty of Environmental and Life Sciences > School of Biological Sciences > Biological Sciences (pre 2018 reorg)
School of Biological Sciences > Biological Sciences (pre 2018 reorg) - Current Faculties > Faculty of Environmental and Life Sciences > School of Geography and Environmental Sciences > Centre for Environmental Science
School of Geography and Environmental Sciences > Centre for Environmental Science - Current Faculties > Faculty of Environmental and Life Sciences > School of Geography and Environmental Sciences
School of Geography and Environmental Sciences - Faculties (pre 2018 reorg) > Faculty of Natural and Environmental Sciences (pre 2018 reorg) > Institute for Life Sciences (pre 2018 reorg)
Current Faculties > Faculty of Environmental and Life Sciences > Institute for Life Sciences > Institute for Life Sciences (pre 2018 reorg)
Institute for Life Sciences > Institute for Life Sciences (pre 2018 reorg) - Faculties (pre 2018 reorg) > Faculty of Physical Sciences and Engineering (pre 2018 reorg) > Electronics & Computer Science (pre 2018 reorg)
Current Faculties > Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences > School of Electronics and Computer Science > Electronics & Computer Science (pre 2018 reorg)
School of Electronics and Computer Science > Electronics & Computer Science (pre 2018 reorg) - Current Faculties > Faculty of Environmental and Life Sciences > School of Ocean and Earth Science > SPITFIRE DTP
School of Ocean and Earth Science > SPITFIRE DTP
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