Thread by @RolandKays

What is the Internet of Animals?

@animaltracking and I see it as an emerging convergence of linked #BigData + #LiveData + Automated #Analytics and #AI.

A powerful tool for science and conservation!

We describe the #IoA in our new paper @Trends_Ecol_Evo
authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S01…

@animaltracking @Trends_Ecol_Evo @WILDLABSNET @conservationx @NaturalSciences @NCState_FER @AI21Labs @freaklabs @conservify @sarameghanbeery @ConsBio @HemRhinoForce Drawing from the blob diagrams of the internet, we first describe what we think are the 50 most important components of the Internet of Animals. This was fun to come up with but probably not comprehensive, what did we miss? What if we expanded to 100?
ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/…

Linking these datasets together is where the magic happens. We can use API’s to seamlessly join datasets and taxonomy becomes the standard to link them. Taxonomy is still dynamic, although @n8_upham has some creative ideas to help
ojs.aaai.org/index.php/AAAI…

Real time data is critical for some fields and there are lots of options, with tradeoffs: coverage, power requirements (ie battery/tag size), and bandwidth. Sometimes data might not literally be real-time but update frequently enough to be timely for conservation decision making

Automated analytics are some of the most recent developments, and where I think we still have the most room to grow. For animal tracking data we have the no-code MoveApps platform with customizable workflows. moveapps.org
@move_apps

Ecological forecasting is the ultimate goal. My fav example is migration forecasts of @DrBirdCast that come from combining radar data + @ebird + statistical models. Not only useful for birdwatchers but also by cities to turn off lights and reduce bird-window collisions.

The whale movement predictions of @whalesafe_sc are also pretty cool, made by combining whale movement models with real time acoustic sensor data, and then overlaid on real time shipping data. A great example of using the #IoA to reduce whale-ship collisions.

What comes next? @animaltracking and highlight some favorite speculative examples, and invent some other ways these technologies could help humans and animals coexist.

There are millions of cameras guarding people’s homes and detecting animals. We don’t need to see those pics, but #AI on the edge could ID the species and share the data for monitoring, and for real time neighborhood predator alerts @blinkforhome @ring

Smart cars are now loaded with sensors and could be conducting roadside animal surveys to help monitor populations and warn other cars about the risk of wildlife collisions. ecoevorxiv.org/repository/obj…

Some cars even have LIDAR now, which has the potential to detect insects and could help determine the scale and geography of our ongoing insect apocalypse. @RRobDunn @pupating @MikeKaspari

Can the IoA translate animal knowledge into terms we can understand? If the 6th sense of animals is an emergent property of many interacting intelligent beings, can we can tap the network to learn what the world is like now and what the animals are forecasting for the future

Intrigued by the Internet of Animals? Want to hear more? Join in person or via zoom in my talk tomorrow @SigmaXiSociety

https://twitter.com/SigmaXiSociety/status/1663538079418703872?s=20