2040 Newsletter

Manufacturing partner for The Cacophony Project

Kia ora,

This month we have some updated help and tips for the DOC AI Cam and some exciting trap news, with our first animal caught using an AI trigger.

Our customers have been busy sharing stories about how they're using the DOC AI Cam:

• Pākehō Crag Restoration Project used a DOC AI Cam to understand why a AT220 stopped killing possums and then got it working again nicely. They also had some head scratching working out whether a thermal video was a morepork or a bat.
• Predator Free NZ ran a story on how Hanmer Springs Trapping Group are using a DOC AI Cam. This was also featured in The Press.
• Friends of the Blade shared a video of two possums checking out an AT220 (it didn't end well for one of them)
• The Orkney Islands have 80 DOC AI Cams as part of their stoat eradication project. They are having success, with recent monitoring showing activity of the rare Orkney Voles at its highest levels since surveys began. These cameras are part of the response to a stoat sighting on one of their outer islands: Rousay. They are using NZ made stoat traps from NestGard.

Check out our youngest ever customer: Taane Mills. Taane is an inspiring young man who runs a trap line with 80 traps for the Otuwhero Blue Duck Project. Taane is 10 years old. Check out his YouTube channel.

We exhibited at the well attended Predator Free New Zealand hui in Queenstown last week. It was great to hear stories of all the mahi that is happening down south. They have another event in Taranaki next month that I'll also be at. I recommend coming along if you're in the area. I'll also be on the DOC stand at Fieldays from 10-13 June. Come and say hi: I'll have the DOC AI Cam, the latest version of the High Interaction Rate trap and our new solar battery pack.

Congratulations to Hark for winning the Best Hi-Tech Solution for the Public Good, and NZ Autotraps for highly commended in the Most Innovative Hi-Tech Solution for a More Sustainable Future at the recent Hi-Tech awards.

Kā mihi nui,
Shaun Ryan
2040 Limited, manufacturing partner for The Cacophony Project

The Pākehō Restoration Project that stopped catching possums. Read what they discovered to get it working again.

Meet Taane from the Otuwhero Blue Duck Project

DOC AI Cam

More help for the new portal

This month we've added some help on how to use the new Cacophony portal that was recently released. This includes:

• A video introduction to the Cacophony portal
• A video showing how to see motion paths and heat maps
• A description of how to label videos as cool, needing review, or any other label.
• An updated manual for the portal.

We've rolled out speed improvements to our backend processing to help handle the increased number of recordings we are processing. We've also fixed a number of small errors on the new portal as we've found them.

Our solar battery pack

We've delivered our first solar battery packs, both in New Zealand and to the Orkney Islands. While it's still early days, the initial feedback is very positive: "very happy with how straightforward the setup in the field is". Customers are also appreciating how light the batteries are

Manufacturing update

We are still busy catching up, following some more large orders and issues with scammers. We've sold more cameras this year than we did all of last year. We are expecting to be caught up and have some stock on hand sometime in June.

The solar battery pack is now available for purchase. This 12V battery pack could potentially be used to power any device that needs power.

High Interaction Rate Trap

As part of the field trials for the high interaction rate trap we have caught our first animal using AI to trigger the trap. The DOC AI Cam was set to trigger for possums, hedgehogs, or rodents. It was set up in urban Christchurch and we didn't want to catch any of the neighbours cats. The first night it was out a cat walked through and didn't trigger the trap A few hours later a possum was identified by the AI and caught.

The Cacophony team are working on a new trigger mechanism that is less likely to accidentally trigger from sunshine and shadows. This is important for our customers that are trying to catch stoats during the day. Initial tests look promising.

They are also adding a cage switch to disable the trap when an animal is caught. This was available for previous versions of our trap.

Over the next month we will be expanding the field testing and doing some more robustness testing in the harsh environment of Rakiura. We will also be testing the reporting of the trap via the DOC AI Cam and working on the cage with doors to release an captured animal or direct it to a kill device.

Check out the first possum caught using the High Interaction Rate Trap with an AI trigger.Check out the first possum caught using the High Interaction Rate Trap with an AI trigger.

A blue iguana is caught by the High Interaction Rate Trap in The Cayman Islands. It was unharmed but this demonstrates why an AI trigger will be useful.