The Instant Detect 2.0 system was designed and developed by the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) between 2016 and 2023, following an earlier iteration of the system developed and tested between 2012 and 2016.
ZSL was uniquely positioned to develop such an innovative conservationist-focused system by leveraging its decades of conservation expertise, cutting-edge wildlife science and its wide network of partners.
To ensure that the Instant Detect 2.0’s system would met the real needs of conservation users, ZSL embedded the development team in the field alongside wildlife rangers conducting wildlife protection patrols and with ZSL’s field conservationists deploying wildlife monitoring equipment. This user-led design approach has focused on making the system robust to survive in the wild, easy to use by non-technical users, and with the ability to meet a diverse range of remote monitoring requirements.
ZSL then collaborated with leading technology developers and satellite communications partners to build the system. Using cutting-edge Internet-of-Things networking techniques and satellite connectivity, the Instant Detect 2.0 system can provide near real-time monitoring and threat detection over a wide area when deployed in completely unconnected landscapes.
ZSL has spent years testing and optimising the system’s design to ensure that when it is deployed in the harshest and remoteest field sites, it will just work. This system testing and optimisation has been supported by ZSL’s keeper teams at Whipsnade Zoo, and in real field conditions across the globe with ZSL’s conservation field programmes.
Instant Detect 2.0 is truly a conservation technology designed by conservationists for conservationists.
