AudioMoth by Open Acoustic Devices

Description

AudioMoth is an open source full-spectrum acoustic logger built around the Silicon Labs Gecko processor by the Open Acoustic Devices Team. It can detect sound from ranging from audible to ultrasonic frequencies and can record uncompressed audio to micro SD card from 8,000 to 384,000 samples per second. A popular research tool for environmental and biodiversity researchers worldwide thanks to the Arribada Initiative, you can now find unattended AudioMoths in some very unexpected places such as rain forests, jungles, and bat caves worldwide.

EFM32 Gecko processor

• Capable of recording at sample rates up to 192kHz
• Experimental sample rate of 384kHz
• Records uncompressed WAV files to SD card
• Powered by 3 x AA batteries
• Analog MEMS microphone
• Analog pre-amplifier with adjustable gain
• 58 x 48 x 15 mm
• Configurable micro-USB interface
• Onboard real-time clock keeps track of time in UTC

AudioMoth Configuration App

The AudioMoth configuration app is an easy to use tool for customising your AudioMoth logging devices.

​Using it you can schedule recording periods, customize recording gain and sample rates as well as calculate approximate device lifespans given a configuration.

The app is available for download here on the Open Acoustic Devices website, as well as more info.

AudioMoth in the News

2021

• Wall Street Journal - Better Data, Cheaper Tech Promise to Unlock Nature's Secrets
  • Article by Jackie Snow on how conservationists hope newly-launched open source tools will lend more insight into endangered species and the effects of climate change.
• Journal of Open Hardware - Open hardware provides a better chance for scientific reproducibility
  • Article by Andrew Hill and Alasdair Davies.
• The Economist - All kinds of new technology are being used to monitor the natural world
  • Technology Quarterly, Jun 19th 2021 edition.

2020

• BBC iPlayer - Inside the Bat Cave
  • BBC documentary showing AudioMoth being used to discover the secret world of one of the most endangered and least understood animals on earth – bats.
• The Guardian - New sensor offers a window into the secret lives of Britain's rarest bats
  • Article by Phoebe Weston on how AudioMoth was used to identify 1.7 million bat calls.

2019

• BBC - Endangered bats: The manicure helping to save a species
  • Article by Helen Briggs with picture showing AudioMoth
• WightLink - Wightlink helps to plot the journey of one of the Isle of Wight’s most special seasonal visitors Wight Link press release by Karen Woods where Adrain Bicker describes using AudioMoth to monitor bat migration
• Hackerfarm - Tech 4 Good : AudioMoth
  • Article in the Tech 4 Good series where Hackerfarm reviews and discusses technology designed for humanitarian, development, or environmental applications
• Silicon Labs - Open Acoustic Devices takes low power to new heights for wildlife conservation
  • Blog by Lance Looper describing how the Silicon Labs processor lowers the power for acoustic monitoring

2018

• Chinadialogue - Five technologies to save wildlife from traffickers
  • Article by Catherine Early introducing technology built in collaborations between conservationists and tech developers.
• RSEC blog - Optimization of sensor deployment for acoustic detection and localization in terrestrial environments
  • Article and video introducing our recent paper on sensor optimization
• Medium Article - Acoustic monitoring made affordable with AudioMoth
  • Article by Holly Baines discussing how AudioMoth is manufactured and supported at a low cost
• Sparkfun Blog - Scaling Open-Source Conservation Technology
  • Article by Megan Arnold describing how AudioMoth has been scaled to enable global conservation projects
• Mongabay Latam Article - Acoustic monitoring: a new system to fight against hunting and illegal logging
  • Article by Yvette Sierra Praeli describing how acoustic monitoring can be used to prevent poaching
• Mongabay Article - ‘AudioMoth’ device aims to deliver low-cost, power-efficient monitoring of remote landscapes
  • Article by Mike Gaworecki describing the Methods in Ecology and Evolution publication

2017

• WWF Conservation Technology - Acoustic Monitoring for Conservation and Ecological research
  • PDF report by WWF describing the guidelines of using acoustic monitoring, featuring a case study using AudioMoth
• BES Press Release - Listening in: Acoustic monitoring devices detect illegal hunting and logging
  • Press release by Sabrina Weiss describing Evelyn Piña Covarrubia's presentation at the ‘Ecology Across Borders’ conference in Ghent
• Oxford Sparks Podcast - Where have all the cicadas gone?
  • Podcast asking Prof Alex Rogers, Peter Prince and Andrew Hill: Where have all the cicadas gone?
• New Scientist Article - Hanging on: In search of the bat that returned from the dead
  • Article by Ollie Wearn using AudioMoth to monitor the Cuban greater funnel-eared bat
• Medium Article - Listening to the mountain: Using audio recorders to monitor forest birds in Kenya
  • Article by Ciira Maina using early prototypes of AudioMoth to monitor the forest birds in Kenya
• New Scientist Article - Drones listen in on bats to reveal their in-flight secrets
  • Article by Chris Baraniuk using AudioMoth to monitor bats by drone
• Journal of Animal Ecology Press - New technologies for listening to bats
  • Article by Simon Hoggart using AudioMoth to monitor bats in Madeira
• BBC - The search for Britain's only native species of cicada
  • Article by Chris Baraniuk introducing an early version of AudioMoth to monitor the New Forest cicada