African researchers have developed a software for PDAs that turns the Bushmen of the Kalahari Desert into digital wildlife trackers. Most of the Bushmen cannot read or write, but they can see what is alive in front of them -- and the icons on their PDAs. The screen displays more than 40 animal species, subspecies and plants. The icons also cover activities such as drinking, feeding, running, fighting, mating and sleeping. Pressing an icon records a sighting or other indications, which is sent wirelessly to a computer server by satellite. Of course, this free software can be used for other purposes than nature conservation. It can be applied around the world to social surveys, organic farming, integrated pest management and disaster relief.
This software is the brainchild of South African conservation scientist Louis Liebenberg. who was helped by former University of Cape Town computer scientist Justin Steventon for the development. And they named their system CyberTracker. You can see above a series of screen icons that are currently used in Africa. (Credit: CyberTracker project).
Trade Forum, the quarterly magazine of the International Trade Centre in Geneva, Switzerland, has more details about how the system works. "Each screen allows the user to record increasingly detailed information. They found that one tracker might record up to 300 observations in a day. Connected to a satellite navigational system in 1996, the hand-held computer automatically recorded the details, time, date and exact location. This information was processed on a base-station computer to create maps and charts of animal movements and feeding habits. Today, all the data collection can be done on a PDA and worked on a personal computer. The free software used to turn a tracker into a digital wildlife tracker has now been downloaded over 25,000 times in more than 50 countries."
You might have no need to track the activities of a rhinoceros, but the software allows you to create your own icons to adapt it for tracking other kinds of things, like monitoring disasters in you area. All you need is a laptop or a PDA. A Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver is optional. For more information, follow these links to CyberTracker hardware and software.
So why do you wait? It's time to become a certified life tracker.
Sources: Peter Hulm, International Trade Forum, Issue 1/2007; and various websites
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