menno's blog

Some of the predator monitoring and trapping solutions we are developing require more power than traditional tools.

We have created a new tool that allows us to test many different methods to lure and capture predators of any type, using sound and thermal vision. We are calling this tool the Cacophony Predator Lab.

In this blog article, we will discuss how sound lure experiments can be set up to test the effectiveness of various sounds for attracting possums. The sound lure software is configured from a web interface that allows you to upload any set of sounds and play them at any volume or time sequence.

Author: Ben McEwen

Hi, I’m Ben. I am a student in my final year of Mechatronics Engineering at the University of Canterbury. This semester I have been working with the Cacophony Project to explore improved ways of tracking animals in video footage for better predator recognition and for the elimination of invasive predator species.

Recent testing of the Cacophony Project's thermal camera has reinforced how good this type of technology is for predator monitoring and control. This blog post highlights the core reasons that the thermal camera developed by The Cacophony Project is a great technology for this application.

Authors: Grant Ryan, James Ross, Elaine Murphy and Merel Jansen

As highlighted in earlier blog posts, the Cacophony Thermal camera is much more sensitive for the detection of predators than the next best to

Last week, Menno Finlay-Smits from the Cacophony Project participated on a Techweek 2019 panel which was centred on the idea of "Tech for Good". The panelists each represented an organisations that each attempt to "do good" in the world in its own way.

We have continued the rat detection experiments recently described on this blog and have updated results to report.