STTR Phase I: State-of-the-Art pH Monitoring in Bioreactors

This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project will develop and test a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant)-based software that will facilitate bird identification in the field by combining geographic information with images, audio, and descriptive data. The proposed software will facilitate research and educational activities by allowing multiple users to collate their observations via the desktop version of this software. Rather than being locked into one platform, the application will be designed for efficient transfer across both Palm OS and Pocket PC platforms. The specific platform decision for Phase I will be made in the initial stages of design after re-evaluation of existing technology. In Phase I, South Dakota Health Technology Innovations, Inc. in collaboration with the University of South Dakota, proposes to develop and test a prototype system for 100 South Dakota birds. The research team will work with the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology to establish appropriate links between this software and their BirdSource website, and to coordinate with Citizen Science programs. The three main selling points of this application will be the mobility offered by the PDA, the access to multimedia and GIS data in the field, and the potential for building an interactive community of naturalists. The software will provide for the first time, mobile access to multimedia data on birds via the PDA. It is expected that this integration of data on the PDA will be purchased by and greatly benefit educators, communities of birdwatchers, and researchers.