Wildlife rangers work each day to fight poaching, and the tech world is starting to help in a big way. Using the Smart (spatial monitoring and reporting tool) system, rangers from more than 147 sites across the world are able to collect, archive and analyse data on poaching and other illegal activities to better deploy conservation efforts. And now the average citizen may get the chance to help thanks to SmartSkout, a new app developed by the winners of the 2016 international Zoohackathon.

How did you get involved in the Zoohackathon, and why did you choose to work with the Smart system?
The Zoohackathon was promoted to various local technology-focused groups. We all saw one of the ads and thought it sounded fun and would also allow us to give back.

Our team came together during the first evening of the San Diego Zoohackathon. The aim was to find solutions to various problems facing conservationists in their pursuit to end poaching. All of the participants were given about 10 topics to choose from, and once they’d selected a topic, they were grouped with others who’d chosen the same subject area. We were tasked with developing a plan to help rangers in the field, using smart technologies to find a better way to communicate with citizens trying to stop poachers. 

How will your platform integrate with the smart system? And how will it make it easier for people to report wildlife crime?

Currently, the way the Smart system is set up, the average citizen can’t report poaching and other wildlife crimes to rangers. We used Kenya as a case study and found that more than 80% of the population owns a mobile phone. Our platform will integrate with the Smart system, allowing anyone with a mobile phone to text the system anonymously and report a poacher or any type of trafficking. The system will integrate a chat bot to speak to the person reporting the poaching activity, and will then send the information to the ranger who will be able to act on it quickly.

An SMS ingestion engine anonymously processes user reports in real time, pulling out keywords and feeding them into the Smart data model. An analytics dashboard aggregates data from SMS reports and multiple Smart connect servers to show trends in poaching activity, both regionally and globally. When implemented, it will be one of the first systems of its kind to enable citizens to connect anonymously with rangers on the frontlines.

Teams at the London Zoohackathon 2016 working hard to develop solutions to various problems facing conservationists in their pursuit to end poaching. (Photo Credit: Anne Gahart / ZSL) 

Since winning the Zoohackathon, how are you working to develop SmartSkout and when will people be able to use it?
We are working with the teams at the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) and other partners to develop our product. We hope to have a working prototype in time for Zoohackathon 2017. Focusing on the most useful and effective features has been challenging, but the team at ZSL and the Wildlife Conservation Society have really helped us hone in on the realities of deploying conservation technologies in the field.

Since winning the Zoohackathon, how are you working to develop SmartSkout and when will people be able to use it?
We are working with the teams at the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) and other partners to develop our product. We hope to have a working prototype in time for Zoohackathon 2017. Focusing on the most useful and effective features has been challenging, but the team at ZSL and the Wildlife Conservation Society have really helped us hone in on the realities of deploying conservation technologies in the field.

These contests help open people’s eyes and make them more aware of the problem and how extensive it is. We’ve also interviewed those running community programmes on the ground to understand how people would use and interact with the solution. Raising awareness of the solution is a key challenge. We now understand we need to plan a community engagement programme alongside development of the app, to work closely with youth groups, women’s groups, village committees, public rallies and other conservancy boards to build awareness of the service and trust in the application.

How can the average person help?
SmartSkout will be an open source app. If you are a programmer who wants to help, then we would love to hear from you through the Zoohackathon team. 

The Zoohackathon team are once again hosting coders, designers, creatives and subject matter experts at the Zoohackathon 2017. This year, the Zoohackathon will take place on September 22-24 in Chicago and San Diego and October 6-8 in London and New Delhi. Join the WILDLABS Zoohackathon community group to connect with other zoohackathon participants across the four sites and follow along on twitter using #zoohackathon.

Black Rhino (seen through bushes), Lewa Wildlife Conservancy (Photo Credit:  Juan Pablo Moreiras / FFI)

Why are contests like Zoohackathon so important in the world of conservation?

Most people know that some of our wildlife is becoming extinct. But many people don’t know the extent of the problem or how they can help. These contests help open people’s eyes and make them more aware of the problem and how extensive it is.

At least four of the solutions developed in last year’s Zoohackathon have been taken forward for development. These events are essential for connecting those who understand the conservation problem with those who have the skills to help solve it.

About the Team

Rachael Kemp, Sophie Maxwell, Julien Godfrey, Jonathan Palmer, Lindsay Hood, Nick Morozovsky, Joy Decena, Alex Olivier, Aysar Khalid, Armando Flores, Mariano Munox, Jason Alderman, are all members of SmartSkout, the team behind app of the same name. 

The Zoohackathon team are once again hosting coders, designers, creatives and subject matter experts at the Zoohackathon 2017. Join the WILDLABS Zoohackathon community group to connect with other zoohackathon participants across the four sites.