CyberTracker

For the 1994 action film, see CyberTracker (film).

CyberTracker Conservation is a South African non-profit company that develops handheld data capture solutions. Their flagship product is called CyberTracker 3 and can be downloaded free from the CyberTracker website.

The software itself was first developed as a way to allow non-literate animal trackers to communicate their environmental observations (Spinney, 1998; Kwinter, 2003). It has since evolved to become a powerful general purpose data capture and visualization system (Zorpette, 2006).

CyberTracker software can be used on smart phones and handheld computers with GPS to record observations of any level of complexity (Marketos, 2008). It allows anyone, regardless of their field of interest, to customize a series of screen interfaces specifically adapted to their own data collection needs.

CyberTracker's unique design allows users to display icons, text or both, which makes data collection faster. It also allows field data collection by non-literate users and school children.

CyberTracker Conservation is a non-profit organisation whose vision is to promote the development of a worldwide environmental monitoring network (Marketos, 2008).

Climate change, pollution, habitat destruction and loss of biodiversity may have serious impacts on human welfare. To anticipate and prevent negative impacts will require ongoing long-term monitoring of all aspects of the environment. CyberTracker strives to improve environmental monitoring by developing software and new methodologies to increase the efficiency of gathering higher quality and larger quantities of field observations (De Leschery, 2002).

Involving scientists, national park rangers and local communities in key areas of biodiversity, CyberTracker combines indigenous knowledge with state-of-the-art computer and satellite technology. Public participation in Citizen Science will also help to develop environmental awareness. CyberTracker is also being used in education, forestry, farming, social surveys and disaster relief (Marketos, 2008).

Integrating an Electronic Field Guide into the CyberTracker data capture interface will improve the quality of data by providing an immediate reference for field observations. CyberTracker Conservation has also developed a methodology that makes it possible to measure observer reliability (Evans, 2006). This ensures that field data can be validated with a high degree of confidence.

CyberTracker provides a simple interface for viewing data, including tables, graphs, and map views showing point data, paths, Observer Effort and Index of Abundance (Marketos, 2008).

Achievements to date

More than 30 000 potential users have downloaded the CyberTracker software in more than 75 countries around the world (Marketos, 2008). CyberTracker has also achieved significant results. For the first time highly skilled trackers, who cannot read or write, have been able to record complex geo-referenced field observations(Spinney, 1998; Kwinter, 2003). The impact of Ebola on Lowland Gorillas in the Congo would not have been known without the data gathered with CyberTracker (Marketos, 2008). The Kruger National Park in South Africa now uses 125 CyberTracker units to gather more than a million records per year (MacFadyen, 2005). CyberTracker, which was awarded the Rolex Award for Enterprise, has received worldwide media coverage, which indicates considerable public interest in the project (De Leschery, 2002).

Software development

The CyberTracker software has been developed and refined over a ten-year period and is based on extensive practical field experience in remote wilderness areas. It is being used in a wide variety of environments, including the Congo rain forest, the central Kalahari Desert, the Himalayan Mountains and in Antarctica (Marketos, 2008). It is being used by individual scientists through to large-scale monitoring in the Kruger National Park (MacFadyen, 2005).

The CyberTracker PC Version 3 downloads data from a handheld computer onto a desktop Personal Computer, where data can be viewed in tables and maps and exported for analysis. The unique icon and text interface design makes data capture very efficient and even allows non-literate users (like expert trackers) to capture very complex data (Zorpette, 2006). An integrated GPS not only provides geo-referenced observations, but also makes it possible to measure Effort by means of regular GPS Timer points (Marketos, 2008). The Sequence Designer makes it possible for users with no programming skills to develop their own customized data capture templates.

Developing high quality software and new methodologies for environmental monitoring presents a number of unique challenges. High quality software is expensive to develop and maintain, yet the end users in conservation often cannot afford to pay for expensive software (Marketos, 2008). Even the hardware needs to be subsidised by donor funding.

For technology to work in remote wilderness areas, it must be easy to use and very robust. In an office environment users of technology can often rely on co-workers who are skilled in technology (a hidden cost of implementing technology in the workplace). In contrast, conservation workers in remote areas often do not have sophisticated technical support on hand – they have to rely on their own resourcefulness.

Electronic Field Guides

CyberTracker software makes it possible to design Electronic Field Guides with Species Identification Filters. Integrating Electronic Field Guides into a data capture interface will improve the quality of data by providing an immediate reference, making it possible to validate observations in the field.

Evaluation of Observer Reliability

The evaluation and certification of practical observation skills will help to improve the quality of data gathered with the CyberTracker software (Evans, 2006).

Tracker Evaluations has been developed in South Africa over the last ten years and has now also been introduced to the USA, where it is being used to evaluate field observation skills of wildlife biologists. The evaluation method makes it possible to measure practical tracking skills with a high degree of confidence (Evans, 2006). Tracking involves complex and highly refined observation skills. The evaluation methodology can be adapted to other areas of field observations, such as the identification of birds, butterflies and plants.

A methodology that makes it possible to measure observer reliability is fundamental to ensure that field data can be validated with a high degree of confidence.

References

De Leschery, K. 2002. "Cyber-age animal tracking". For Enterprise, The Rolex Awards Journal/No. 13.

Evans, J.W.Y. 2006. "Observer error in identifying species using indirect sign". Discussion Papers, www.cybertracker.org

Kwinter, S. 2003. "Trailblazer". Wired (Issue 11.06, June 2003).

MacFadyen, S. 2005. "Electronic Ranger Diaries: The Kruger National Park CyberTracker Programme". http://www.sanparks.org/parks/kruger/conservation/scientific/gis/cybertracker.php

Marketos, A.S. 2008. "CyberTracker revolution". For Enterprise, The Rolex Awards Journal/No. 23.

Spinney, L. 1998. "Keeping Track". New Scientist (Issue 2158, 31 October 1998).

Zorpette, G. 2006. "Call of the Wild". IEEE Spectrum (February, 2006).

External links

• CyberTracker web site
• Justin's CyberTracker Corner
• Learning to Track Like a Bushman, Wired
• Bazilchuk, Nancy. 2004. Backward compatible. Conservation in Practice 5(4):37-38.