Talk Event
- #Finished
- #Entrance Free
Creating a global network of real time animal behaviour helps conservation efforts, research on infectious diseases and might even aid disaster detection. Hear from Dr. Martin Wikelski who pioneered and currently leads the Icarus project.
*This event will be mainly in English with Japanese support during the Q&A and discussion session
Thu, September 28, 2023 UTC+09:00
19:00 – 20:30 Venue opens at 18:30. The first half of this program will be also broadcasted online.
FabCafe Kyoto / Online ｜ View on Google Map
60 people
Free However, we request that all participants order a minimum of 1 drink
Please register for this event using the Join button above.
Before a disaster, animals might behave unusually and seek to flee while humans often don’t realize until the disaster is literally upon them. While relying on animals to tell us when the next tsunami or earthquake might strike might have been dismissed in the past as unscientific, studies have emerged to show that non-humans are indeed more sensitive to subtle warning signs and display unusual behaviour leading up to a natural disaster.
The Icarus Initiative uses a satellite to collect real time data from animals all over the world. Image Credits: Javier Lazaro
The Icarus project brings this hypothesis one step further. By tagging animals with WIFI-enabled sensors that log and track animal behaviour, animals in disaster-prone zones can be enlisted into an early warning system that might surpass our current mechanical and digital sensors. By tagging and tracking animals all over the globe, and collecting that information via satellite in real time, the Icarus Project is trying to establish the ‘Internet of Animals’.
Not only may this network of animals tell us of the next pending catastrophe, it can also give us a deeper understanding of animals and their surroundings. Being able to “follow” wild animals into the field may allow us to “see” the dangers they face – such as poaching and habitat loss. Dr. Martin Wikelski, who leads the Icarus project at the Max Planck Institute Of Animal Behavior, hopes that a deeper knowledge of the non-human species that share this planet with us will lead to developing a stronger ethical responsibility to protect them.
The tracking sensors are tiny enough to fit on ear tags or collars and yet still read a variety of data and transmit it to the satellite. Photo Credits: MPI-AB
With their heightened senses and their own knowledge of the natural environment, what can animals tell us about the world? Join us as we hear from Dr. Wikelski on his work with the Icarus initiative, the relaunch of the system into space and how giving animals “wearables” may be the first step to communicating with them on a larger scale.
- Animal behaviour, disaster warning and prevention researchers
- Government officials working on disaster management and wildlife management
- Ecologists and biologists interested in studying animals on a larger scale
- Digital sensor manufacturers and researchers
- The presentation and Q&A session will be held in English and will be broadcasted online.
- The summary and discussion session will be held offline in Japanese at FabCafe Kyoto
- If there are too many sign-ups, there may be a possibility that we choose participants through a raffle. We ask for your understanding on this matter.
- Photos of participants and the event may be uploaded to the FabCafe Kyoto/Loftwork.com website at a later date
- We reserve the right to change this program with no prior notice.
-
SPCS｜Embodying the uncontrollability of nature, a community exploring new ways of co-creation
SPCS is a program that explores new ways of co-creation with nature through prototyping. “In what ways can we handle the uncontrollable power of nature and design systems that promote creativity?” Is our guiding question. Each season, we invite lecturers from different fields to carry out practical workshops. Instead of manipulating nature for our human needs, we explore a co-creationary approach. We encourage a speculative output formed by each participant’s curiosity towards biological mechanisms.
Activity Concepts / Past activities >>
SPCS is a program that explores new ways of co-creation with nature through prototyping. “In what ways can we handle the uncontrollable power of nature and design systems that promote creativity?” Is our guiding question. Each season, we invite lecturers from different fields to carry out practical workshops. Instead of manipulating nature for our human needs, we explore a co-creationary approach. We encourage a speculative output formed by each participant’s curiosity towards biological mechanisms.
Activity Concepts / Past activities >>
Referenced articles：
- Unusual Animal Behavior Preceding the 2011 Earthquake off the Pacific Coast of Tohoku, Japan: A Way to Predict the Approach of Large Earthquakes , Hiroyuki Yamauchi, Hidehiko Uchiyama, Nobuyo Ohtani, and Mitsuaki Ohta(2014)
- The animals that detect disasters, Norman Miller, BBC (2022)
-
Dr. Martin Wikelski
Director, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior and Professor, University of Konstanz
Dr. Martin Wikelski investigates global animal migrations with the goal of creating an intelligent sensor network of animals—the “Internet of Animals”—and protecting animals worldwide. He has pioneered a system for continuously tracking thousands of animals from space, ICARUS, and in doing so has opened up a frontier in harnessing animal observation as a tool for conservation.
Dr. Martin Wikelski investigates global animal migrations with the goal of creating an intelligent sensor network of animals—the “Internet of Animals”—and protecting animals worldwide. He has pioneered a system for continuously tracking thousands of animals from space, ICARUS, and in doing so has opened up a frontier in harnessing animal observation as a tool for conservation.
-
18:30
-
Venue opens
-
19:00
-
Greeting and Introductions (Online)
-
19:05
-
Presentation （Online - 15min）
・Dr. Wikelski introduces Project Icarus and talks about the most recent developments
・This presentation will be held entirely in English -
19:20
-
Question and Answer （Online 20min）
・Translations, if necessary, will be provided by Loftwork
-
19:40
-
Break
-
19:45
-
Offline Review and Discussion
・To be held in Japanese
-
20:10
-
Mixer
-
20:30
-
Venue closes
-
Date & Time
-
Thu, September 28, 2023 19:00 – 20:30 Venue opens at 18:30. The first half of this program will be also broadcasted online. UTC+09:00
-
Venue
-
FabCafe Kyoto / Online
Motoshiogamacho 554, Kyoto Shimogyo-ku, Kyoto, 600-8119, Japan
* No parking is available.
View on Google Map -
Fee
-
Free However, we request that all participants order a minimum of 1 drink
-
Capacity
-
60 people
Please register for this event using the Join button above.