Collaboration
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Encounternet dissemination
The Encounternet project team will design, build and test a sophisticated tool designed for social interaction monitoring and behavioral event recording. Encounternet will be flexible, with many useful features, and yet small and light enough to be used in studies of most vertebrate animals. This tool will be capable of addressing numerous behavioral research topics, many of which we haven't conceived. Not surprisingly, all of the researchers we have contacted who study animal social behavior and/or social networks have expressed a strong interest in using the system. This raises the question of how we will disseminate Encounternet.
Access timeline
Initially (2009-2010), we will engage in pilot deployments with a small number of collaborators with small projects that closely match the initial Encounternet specification. The purpose of these collaborations is to field test the system and work out any kinks before we make the hardware widely available. After the system has been proven and tested (2011 onward), we will make Encounternet available to all researchers in the form of open-sourced software/firmware, hardware design files, full documentation, and our assistance in manufacture and deployment. See below for the various access options that will be available.
Dissemination plans
Our dissemination plan is multi-leveled and takes into account the fact that different researchers will have different technical skills and needs. Some researchers may be technically savvy, or will have a skilled collaborator, while others may want a complete system with no assembly required on their part. Cost is also a large consideration in our plan: most behavioral researchers cannot afford to use expensive technology, and so we will strive to find ways to reduce the cost of the system as much as possible. All design information and software code will be made openly available to the research community.
Specific details are outlined below, but to summarize: we will make all project documentation, source code, and fabrication files freely available and will provide support in our online project forum and via email. Additional help with construction and deployment will be made available on a paid consultation basis.
The DIY option: full access to documentation, project files, and online help forum
The first level of community access to Encounternet will be via a complete set of documentation. We will construct a wiki-based website containing all of the information necessary to construct and use an Encounternet system. The site will contain complete user documentation, construction instructions, device firmware source code, circuit diagrams, and circuit board fabrication files. The Encounternet website will have three main functions: 1) a person with electronics skills can use the site contents to fabricate and program their own Encounternet tag system, 2) complete up-to-date user manuals will provide set-up and operation documentation for those with Encounternet hardware, and 3) a user forum will be created to allow two-way feedback and discussion about Encounternet. The forum will provide a means for us to help Encounternet users, receive feedback, and notify the community about updates, etc.
The batch manufacturing option: grouped device fabrication orders, with project team guidance
A second method of dissemination will be via our shepherding of group orders of tags. Using the circuit files we will provide, Encounternet tags, and fixed node collection stations can be constructed by a circuit foundry. The cost of fabricating Encounternet tags can be made cheaper by increasing the number of tags in a manufacturing order. Therefore, if several researchers each want a tag system, then we will help them to combine their fabrication orders and reduce the cost of each system. We estimate that with the efficiency of group ordering, we will be able to offer Encounternet tags at a cost of about $100-200 per tag or fixed node. This cost is less than or equivalent to the much larger commercial encounter monitoring systems available now. We suspect that this will be the most likely method that other researchers will gain access to Encounternet.
The commercial option: purchasing Encounternet from a third party vendor
A third option, which has not been arranged yet, would be to license a commercial radio tag manufacturer to make and sell complete ready-to-use Encounternet systems. When the project has reached the completion stage, and if there is demand for this option, we will pursue a relationship with a commercial vendor.
Support and consulting
Depending on a researcher's application, tag circuit boards that are fabricated will need to be prepared in various unique ways for use with specific animals. Usually this will at least involve weatherizing the tag and adding mount hardware. Then, the system must be deployed in the experimental environment. In addition to complete help documentation on the website and the online forum, the project team will provide consulting assistance for these processes.
