Modular design

Agronomy

Biology

Operating system

Epistemology

Philosophy

Embedded system

Controller (irrigation)

Microphone

Computer science

Simple (philosophy)

Sound pressure

Real-time computing

Computer hardware

Telecommunications

HardwareX

Environmental sound is a powerful data source for investigating ecosystem health. To capture it, scientists commonly use ruggedized, but expensive acoustic monitoring equipment. In this paper we fully describe the hardware build of a low-cost, small, full-spectrum alternative, called AudioMoth. The credit-card sized device consists of a printed circuit board, micro-controller and a micro-electro-mechanical systems microphone. This simple to construct device facilitates: (1) deployments in remote locations, with a small size and a simple mechanism that allows it to be retrofitted into numerous low-cost ruggedized enclosures; (2) long-term monitoring, with low-power operation; (3) modular expansion, with easy to access general purpose input and output pins; and (4) acoustic detection, with onboard processing power.

AudioMoth: A low-cost acoustic device for monitoring biodiversity and the environment