Source: MIL-OSI Submissions
Source: Predator Free 2050
Thanks to funding from the Government’s Jobs for Nature Mahi mō te Taiao programme, Predator Free 2050 Limited (PF2050 Ltd) has today announced $4.8 million in funding for seven companies developing predator eradication tools and ‘best practice’ for their use, while creating and supporting jobs.
The funding is being invested through the ‘ Products to Projects’ initiative, launched in 2019 to accelerate development and commercialisation of new tools that will help groups working to achieve mainland eradication of possums, rats and mustelids at landscape scale without the use of fences.
Now, three years on, a number of new tools are already available to buy and are successfully in use, with many more only months away. PF2050 Ltd Science Director Professor Dan Tompkins said it’s crucial to be continually innovating to get New Zealand to the 2050 national eradication goals at pace.
“Products to Projects is providing options for more efficient and cost-effective ways of achieving and maintaining predator eradication. These new investments include smart self-resetting kill-traps that use A.I. to prevent non-target species from being harmed, remote reporting of both live-captures in cage-traps and bait levels in bait-stations, new ways of targeting rats and stoats, and systems to use ‘SWARM’ satellites for device communications in remote regions,” Prof Tompkins said.
“We are already seeing the positive impact of new tool development not only for Aotearoa’s biodiversity, but also commercially and socially through the support of local businesses and jobs. The new investments alone will support an estimated 26 full time equivalent employed with Jobs for Nature.”
Previous recipients of Products to Projects support, Boffa Miskell, recently released their PF2050 Ltd -funded POAUKU long-lasting ceramic predator lures onto the market. Associate Partner Helen Blackie said, “These new environmentally-friendly products are proving hugely popular. Our first production of thousands sold out in a few weeks, and now tens of thousands are being delivered.”
New recipient of support eTrapper is a start-up Internet of Things technology company. Project Lead Iain Hook said, “We wouldn’t be able to get over the hurdle from early prototype development to final product manufacture and commercial availability without the support of PF2050 Ltd.”
The newly funded developments are expected to be completed by June 2024, providing 11 tools and 3 best-practice guidelines, complementing the 15 tools already being delivered from the earlier investments, and guidance on the use of mātauranga (traditional knowledge) for predator eradication.
VIdeo: Professor Dan Tompkins, Science Director, Predator Free 2050 Limited speaking about the funding.
BACKGROUND
Predator Free 2050 Limited is a Crown-owned charitable company established in 2016. It provides co-funding that supports projects aiming to achieve predator eradication at large landscape scale, and funds the breakthrough science, embedded R&D, and new tools to help them realise their goals. The recipients of the new Products to Projects investment, and their funded projects, are:
Project: Low-Cost, Low-Power, Long-Life Smart Camera Monitoring System
Cost-effective, intelligent cameras for predator surveillance will be developed and commercialised, based on CritterPic® imaging technology with real-time species identification. This will help projects overcome current camera limitations, including false triggers, neophobia, and high equipment and labour costs. This development will include a user-friendly online data management interface and sees the evolution of CritterPic from a ‘solution in a box’ to a tree/post mounted device.
Project: Species-Specific Kill Traps Using CritterPic® AI Technology
Smart self-resetting kill-traps will be developed for possums, rats and stoats, utilising proven CritterPic® imaging technology with real-time species identification to prevent non-target species such as native birds from being harmed. This will enable predator kill-trapping to be more effective in farmland and urban areas, and regions where non-targets (e.g. kea) are a key concern.
Project: Smart Live Capture Network Solutions
Celium wireless sensor networks are already widely used to monitor cage traps. This project will deliver new integrated locking solutions to enable traps to be automatically locked on a schedule or via remote command. Scheduling will allow daylight captures of non-target species to be reduced, while remote locking will assist when personnel are unable to physically visit traps due to illness, poor weather, or site access issues. Existing network hardware and software solutions will also be upgraded and commercialised.
Project: Landscape Scale Wireless Trap Monitoring Best Practice
A Learning Management System (LMS) will be developed to deliver best practice guidance on remote monitoring systems for trapping programmes. This freely-available system-agnostic resource will provide information on how these systems work, their suitability for different landscapes, the constraints of the technology, and how best to use remote monitoring in the different phases of eradication. The LMS will also deliver specific information and support for Celium wireless sensor networks.
Project: Rat Spitfire
The Rat Spitfire is an automated, long-life, kill device being designed specifically to target rats, that can be left unattended for 1 year and is capable of killing ~100 rats between refills. Sensors will ensure that only rats receive an individually-targeted measure of toxin, sprayed on the abdomen and subsequently ingested through grooming. The device has an automatic lure system, an electronic trigger counter, and bluetooth connectivity for long-term use. Thereby the Rat Spitfire greatly reduces labour time and costs compared with traditional traps and bait stations. With its innovative design, it maximises efficacy and interaction rates for rats whilst reducing risk to non-target species.
Developer: eTrapper Ltd
Project: Baitmonitor
This project will bring to market a low-cost multi-purpose sensor that reports on the volume of bait within a bait station. Data is supplied from the device through wireless communications to a dashboard that maps the fill levels of bait stations in near real-time. This reporting will not only allow operators to increase efficiency through timely servicing decisions, but the predator activity monitoring enabled will also tactically guide efforts to achieve eradication within project areas.
Project: Planning and Implementation Functions for Landscape-Scale Eradication Projects
The online service Trap.NZ is used widely for the recording and reporting of predator control operations throughout New Zealand. This project will add a new ‘deployment’ module to this service that will support the initial setting-up of new predator eradication projects. Mapping functions will greatly reduce the work required for planning and remove the need for specialist software and skills. Recording functions will help keep track of landowner permissions and device installation.
Project: Open Sensor Software Service for Trap.NZ
Remote sensing technology is becoming invaluable to New Zealand’s predator-free initiative. However, while the hardware cost is getting cheaper, in many cases the data transmission costs are not. This project will provide one solution to this issue, by providing an open software service that allows sensor devices to communicate directly with the online Trap.NZ trapping database via off-the-shelf gateway devices, rather than needing to go through subscription based communication services.
Project: Intelligent Trap V2
Predator Free 2050 Ltd has previously co-funded development of a high catch-rate trap that makes catching the last hard to get predators less expensive and more scalable. This project will accelerate the evolution of that trap, providing support for the commercial availability of a new version that incorporates (i) automation to enable multiple catches a night; (ii) an intelligent trigger to minimise the risk of any by-catch; and (iii) automated killing to remove the need for daily human servicing.
Project: ZIP Tranche 2 Products to Projects
ZIP is conducting operational research to help the PF2050 landscape project ‘Predator Free South Westland’ achieve its elimination goals. This funding supports availability of the tools and approaches being developed for other projects to utilise: (i) a ‘SWARM-Driven Remote Reporting System’; (ii) a ‘Wildlife-friendly bait-station’; (iii) registration and guide for use of ‘Toxin-Laced Rodents; (iv) an operational guide for aspects of the ‘1080 to Zero’ approach; and (v) the ‘ZIPinn Trap Mk2’.
