The system needs to know about the Camera Location before you can start to process Camera Trap images. Once a camera location is set, it shouldn't change. If the direction of the camera changes but the camera is physically in the same location, it is technically positioned in a new camera location, and a new record should be created.
From the project homepage, there is a button to create a camera location. This is how individual locations are added, and this help page will explain the meaning of each of the field. For an alternative method, please see the help page on how to add locations in bulk.
Creating Camera Locations
1. Navigate to the project home page. Click “establish camera location”.
2. Fill in the fields: name site, location time, and camera lat/long.
Note: A site can tie together multiple camera locations. Each “name” field must be unique.
3. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click "Save Locations"
Form Attributes and their Meaning
When you click the "Establish Camera Location" button, you are presented with a web form. Please fill in the fields to the best of your ability.
Name: (required) Give the location a name or perhaps code which can identify it. Note there is another field to capture a code, but this is the main field that is displaying in the user interface. Ideally, these names should be unique, although the system does not enforce this.
Site: (optional) The Site Name is a mechanism to group camera together. All locations that share the same Site Name can be considered a group, and we have additional tools to take advantage of this information.
Location Type: (optional) Select the type of location from the list, which includes: Overpass, Underpass, Culvert, Wildlife Trail, and Opportunistic.
Location: (required) Enter the Latitude and Longitude coordinates or use the map to navigate to the position and click the map to generate the point coordinates.
Notes: (optional) Enter a description or additional notes about this location, if you'd like.
Additional Attributes
Lens Direction: The direction the camera lens is pointing. With this information, the image tagger can determine the direction the animal is moving in the photo.
Location Code: This field is used to specify an external location code used by other software. It is a way to help the operator match locations with other software used on the project, for example if that software used another identifier.
Threshold: (required, default value 0.2) This is the threshold for returning an image based on a confidence level.
Non Animal Image Handling: (required, default delete empties) Select the option of what to do with images without animals. The default is just to delete the images without animal, but if you want to see what those are, you can change this value and instead the empty values will be available as a Zip file. Because of the extra space requirements for empty images, this will like come at an extra cost.
Project: (required, read only). This value should have the project which this location is a member.
Location Images
Location Images: (optional) Upload an image of the camera location. This can be very helpful when multiple people are managing a camera trap location, and it can help prevent camera loss.
Road Specific Details
Road Type: (optional) What type of road is being monitored? Is it a major highway, or a local gravel road? Select the best value here.
Speed Limit: (optional) What is the speed limit of the road you are monitoring? WVC is highly correlated with higher speeds. Select the speed limit (in miles per hour) using the selection box.
Roadside Features: (optional) Select the important roadside features nearby that can effect animal movement.
Crossing Structure Details
Crossing Structure Side: (optional) When you group multiple cameras together using the Site Name (mentioned above), you can also specify with this field which side of a crossing structure the camera is on. Sides can be chosen arbitrarily, with side 0 being a camera in the middle of a structure. These details are useful for other tools we will offer in the future, such as tools that can track (and count) animals moving through crossing structures.
Length, Width, and Height: (optional) These attributes can be added to provide the dimensions of the structure, such as a Culvert. The units of these values should be in meters.
Visibility through Structure: (optional) It is often important for the animal to visibly see the other side in order to use the structure. This field captures this attribute with High, Medium, or Low values.
Material of the Structure: (optional) Select the material used to construct the structure. Options include: Concrete, Corrugated Metal, Dirt, Metal, and Riprap (large rocks). Other material can be added upon request to an administrator.
Material of the Ground: The ground material might impact an animal's use of the structure. We provide an attribute to track this detail, and use the same list as above.