The Thermal Camera with Speaker is our standard thermal camera that is used for predator monitoring, with a speaker that plugs into the front of the camera. This can be used to experiment with audio lures to attract predators into a trap, or to play sounds (like barking) to scare predators away, for example from the end of a predator proof fence.
This DOC story describes how a recording of baby stoats was used to lure a stoat into a trap on Motutapu Island.
The speaker comes with a 5m cable allowing you to position it in front of the camera, so you can see the reaction of any animals. If you would like a longer cable please let us know.
The speaker is a waterproof marine speaker with an IP66 rating.
The camera includes software that allows you to upload arbitrary sounds and create schedules of when they'll play, at what volume and at in which combination. You can see details on how to do this in the audio camera manual
The camera accessories all work with this camera and there is a discount available if you buy a camera, tripod battery combination. You can try before you buy with the thermal camera rental option.
The camera and audio hardware and software, along with the machine vision algorithms and cloud storage portal have all been developed by The Cacophony Project, a not for profit organisation. A proportion of the proceeds will be donated to The Cacophony Project so they can continue to develop technology to help New Zealand become predator free.
