Old scooter batteries powering hunt for possums, stoats and rats
Christchurch pest company 2040 Ltd is upcycling e-scooter batteries to power their predator devices. A charity and company based in Christchurch, New Zealand, has developed smart tech to hunt for wildlife-harming pests. Shaun Ryan and Grant Ryan are using the technology to target possums, stoats, rats, hedgehogs, wallabies and feral cats and dogs. The pair are also developing their own line of monitors and traps, under the banner 2040 Ltd. The thermal cameras send their findings to the cloud, where AI checks whether a dangerous animal like a possum has been spotted, or something harmless like a kiwi. Each thermal camera will be powered by an old battery from a Lime e-scooter. The project is funded by the Department of Conservation, and the first-generation thermal camera lasts for one week.
Published : 2 years ago by Olivia Wannan in Environment
Shaun Ryan co-founded a charity and company using the latest tech to hunt for wildlife-harming pests.
Entrepreneur Shaun Ryan’s pest-detecting cameras mix new with old: artificial intelligence and used batteries from Lime scooters.
The Christchurch-based engineer, who sold his e-commerce business in 2018, has paired up with his brother Grant to develop smart tech targeting possums, stoats, rats, hedgehogs, wallabies and feral cats and dogs.
The duo is so confident in the ability of technology to beat pests that they expect the country’s predator free by 2050 goal could be accomplished a decade early.
The innovations developed by the non-profit Cacophony Project will be available to anyone.
In addition, the brothers are using the tech in their own line of monitors and traps, under the banner 2040 Ltd. A small, affordable thermal camera to detect pests is ready to go into the field.
They are also working on a tunnel-like trap that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to direct pests into an adjacent cage trap, but releases other species including native birds.
The Ryans were drawn to the environmental cause after Grant purchased a property in Akaroa infested with possums and rats. He started trapping the predators, but wasn’t impressed with the technology available.
The brothers set out to build better options, and make any developments open-sourced.
They quickly released commonly used cameras do a poor job of detecting pests, often missing a lot of action. Thermal sensors picked up more, Shaun said. “The heat of the animals – particularly the nocturnal predators – just pops out.”
With a PhD in AI, Shaun wanted to incorporate machine learning to reduce the human workload.
The thermal cameras send their findings to the cloud, where AI checks whether a dangerous animal like a possum has been spotted, or something harmless like a kiwi. If desired, the raw footage can be sent to sanctuaries and double-checked by human eyes.
If a pest is detected, the tech sends an alert to the council or community group.
“They’re seeing three times as many possums as a trail camera, and … up to 20 times as many rats,” he said.
Each thermal camera will be powered by an old battery from a Lime e-scooter.
A Cacophony Project engineer had worked in the electric vehicle field, and knew one of the Lime employees – and a plan to upcycle used batteries from damaged scooters was hatched, Shaun said.
“The battery’s actually perfectly good… We package them up and make them really waterproof and drop the voltage down.”
As an environment organisation, 2040 Ltd is keen to minimise the resources it uses – so giving scooter batteries a second life was a great fit, Shaun said. “It’s part of our kaupapa.”
Lime’s Australia-New Zealand general manager Hugo Burt-Morris said the project was a game-changer. “In some small way, this partnership will contribute to New Zealand’s goal of becoming predator free.”
The thermal cameras also contain a microphone. Once the software is ready, audio from the bush will also be sent to the cloud – and AI will count different species of bird calls. These counts could be more accurate and less laborious than traditional counts requiring a person to tramp into the area, Shaun said.
“They [the person] can have an impact on the birds that are there. They might scare some away or may attract some,” he said. “Labour ends up being one of the most expensive costs for these projects. This really does save labour.”
With funding from the Department of Conservation, the Ryans turned their $3000 first-generation thermal camera that lasts for one week before needing a battery change into one that lasts three months but costs “under half the price”.
It’s not just Kiwi conservationists interested: 2040 Ltd has sold tech to Australia, Norfolk Island and the Cayman Islands.
The organisation is developing trapping as well as monitoring. Pests are good at avoiding these devices, Shaun said. “Typically, for every 100 predators that go past a trap, just one will go into it – which is really frustrating.”
But if just one animal goes in, it’s far more likely – according to research – that others will follow.
For that reason, 2040 Ltd is designing a “big, wide” tunnel to be put on the ground. “The animals can see right through. We sense when the animal is in, and we close the blinds – and the animal scares into a cage trap… They’re about 10 times more effective.”
The plan is to use AI, Shaun said, so the trap ensnares predators, but remains inactive if a bird wanders in. “You may have other rules – if you’re in an urban area, you may not catch cats, for example,” he added.
Another trap design would feature a moving camera that detects and sprays pest species with a dose of poison, Shaun said.
“Our mission is about saving the birds in New Zealand, but we also want to make the technology available globally.”