Last Updated: August 17th, 2020

UPDATE: JRS awarded follow-up grant to continue the work of the project. Please click here to view. 

Background

CyberTracker Conservation, a non-profit organization, originally developed the CyberTracker software for non-literate Bushmen trackers. It is the most efficient way to gather large quantities of geo-referenced field observations. More than 50,000 potential users in 210 countries have downloaded the free software for national parks, scientific research, citizen science and education.

Key Objectives and Activities

Originally developed for non-literate African trackers, CyberTracker is now being used worldwide by numerous conservations agencies, national parks, scientists, schools and citizen science projects. Many of these organizations have made considerable investments in equipment, training and data gathering. Due to recent developments in the PDA and Smart Phone markets, the current version of CyberTracker will soon be obsolete. It is therefore essential to upgrade the CyberTracker software so that we can continue to support the projects using it.

Planned Outputs

• Upgrade CyberTracker software
• Develop for use on Android Smartphones
• Increase the number of individuals using this software

Planned Outcomes

The more affordable Android smart phones will enable large numbers of new CyberTracker users (who previously could not afford expensive PDAs). As the cost of smart phones decrease in the near future, the number of conservation and education projects using CyberTracker may increase exponentially. With the development of Cloud computing, CyberTracker may make a significant contribution towards a worldwide environmental monitoring network.

Notes from JRS

The CyberTracker database presents a unique spatial data set, covering an extensive area. Accurate absence data provided by CyberTracker opens the door for advanced distribution modeling, and also provides a measure of the evenness of sampling. The full richness of the data set will only emerge over time as the data are explored from a number of perspectives.