Instant Detect is a State-of-the-Art Conservation System
Instant Detect is a conservation system designed to remotely monitor wildlife population and movements, and to play a leading role in anti-poaching efforts. The Zoological Society of London (ZSL) developed Instant Detect with funding from Google’s Global Impact Award, which it won in 2013.
UK-Based Remote Monitoring
With the monitoring HQ in London, the Instant Detect cyber safety net is a truly global application of technology. The system has been used in Antarctica to monitor penguin populations and in Kenya in collaboration with the Kenyan Wildlife Service to tackle elephant and rhino poaching. The Tsavo region of Kenya alone has seen more than 1,000 rhinos killed in the last 18 months.
Traditional wildlife monitoring systems rely on SD cards or mobile cellular networks to save or upload images and data. These systems suffer due to lack of real-time imagery or simply don’t work when mobile coverage is lacking.
Joint Collaboration
Instant Detect was developed in collaboration with Cambridge consultants Iridium, Seven Technologies Group, and Wireless Innovation Ltd (now trading as Ground Control) in response to these issues. The covert system now sends data instantly via satellite to the ZSL team. When human activities trigger the system sensors – particularly with the presence of metal – the team alerts rangers to the presence of poachers with photographic proof. This early warning allows local enforcement to react quickly and keep a virtual eye on remote regions.
