This project aims to pioneer development of next generation automation technologies for pest animal control. The technology can use computer vision and machine learning algorithms coupled with artificial intelligence to develop devices which can see, think and act to target specific pest animals.
Completed
All applications are significant innovations that automate manual actions resulting in land manager labour savings, and paving the way for further applications across a wider cohort of pest species.
Paul completed his under-graduate Degree at Roseworthy in SA, a Master’s Degree on the biology and ecology of foxes, free-roaming dogs and cats in Jervis Bay at University Canberra and completed his PhD at the University of New England on camera trapping. He was awarded the Chancellors Post-Doctoral Research Award for his PhD research. Paul has been working in the ecology field for over 30 years in positions throughout Australia and has been fortunate to work overseas, including 3 years on Christmas Island. He is currently working for NSW Dept Primary Industries in the Invasive Plant and Animal Unit; he is a research collaborator of the Vertebrate Pest Research Unit and CISS, and an Adjunct Lecturer with the University of New England. Primary work roles are developing policy framework for pest management that integrate new research findings into control and monitoring. He also contributes to research that benefits pest management and impact monitoring, conducting training and working with all pest agencies throughout Australia to develop best practice. Paul is Project Leader for the Wild Dog Alert and e-Hub Intelli Trap Projects.
Areas of expertise include, camera trapping, predator trapping, small mammal trapping, radio tracking, fox, wild dog and feral cat ecology, Hastings River Mouse and Christmas Island shrew ecology.
Paul was awarded a Churchill Fellowship in 2011 investigating the use of camera traps in wildlife research and monitoring.
This project is supported by funding from the Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment.
August 2020 update:
The E-Tech hub project team developed and tested remote systems for the management of livestock and biodiversity. A system was developed for the targeted delivery of baits when wild dogs are identified as being present at the device but remains closed with bait inaccessible when there are no wild dogs present. An autonomous gate closure system suitable for trapping of feral pigs and similar invasive species was developed that identifies both the species and number of that species present in the trap prior to determining if the trap gate should close. The team also developed a remote recognition device that can identify livestock and allow them access to water points but will close to exclude invasive species allowing land managers greater flexibility and control when managing water points for stock.
The development and testing phases of this project are complete, and this project has entered the commercialisation phase with the State of New South Wales acting through the Department of Primary Industries within the Department of Regional NSW as the nominated Designated Party to take the outputs from this project through the commercialisation process. CISS will monitor the commercialisation process as it progresses.
February 2019 update:
The e–technology hub team have been developing a number of working prototypes and refining their capabilities – this includes a feral cat tactile lure and a sentinel bait station. As with all technology this is an iterative process and considerable time and effort has been dedicated to resolving technical limitations of equipment and systems to ensure robust devices are constructed for testing.
Scientific publications: