By Kate Lewis Hood / Jennifer Gabrys 28 June 2022 Guardian Platform The Guardian platform and devices were developed to detect the sounds of chainsaws and other threats to forest environments. The devices began as repurposed smartphones fitted with a microphone, battery packs, and solar panels to record and send data to a cloud system to be analysed by AI. If sounds of logging or poaching were identified, alerts were sent to rangers on the ground. The technology has received popular media coverage since Topher White and colleagues launched it in 2013. Still, socio-political questions remain around the implementation of technological 'solutions' developed in the Global North for largely Global South forest contexts. At the same time, these devices have the potential to implement surveillance systems that can have multiple impacts on local communities.
By Kate Lewis Hood / Jennifer Gabrys 28 June 2022 Guardian Platform The Guardian platform and devices were developed to detect the sounds of chainsaws and other threats to forest environments. The devices began as repurposed smartphones fitted with a microphone, battery packs, and solar panels to record and send data to a cloud system to be analysed by AI. If sounds of logging or poaching were identified, alerts were sent to rangers on the ground. The technology has received popular media coverage since Topher White and colleagues launched it in 2013. Still, socio-political questions remain around the implementation of technological 'solutions' developed in the Global North for largely Global South forest contexts. At the same time, these devices have the potential to implement surveillance systems that can have multiple impacts on local communities.
By Max Ritts / Kate Lewis Hood 28 March 2022 RCFx App Image of the RFCx app. Image source: Rainforest Connection [image]. Retrieved 28 March 2022, from https://rfcx.org/ The RFCx app enables users to listen to audio livestreams from a range of forest locations and to access recordings of particular species categorised by their level of endangerment (from 'critically endangered' to 'least concern'). The app also functions as a fundraising tool for RCFx projects.
By Max Ritts / Kate Lewis Hood 28 March 2022 RCFx App Image of the RFCx app. Image source: Rainforest Connection [image]. Retrieved 28 March 2022, from https://rfcx.org/ The RFCx app enables users to listen to audio livestreams from a range of forest locations and to access recordings of particular species categorised by their level of endangerment (from 'critically endangered' to 'least concern'). The app also functions as a fundraising tool for RCFx projects.