BIOBSERVE - Outdoor Explorer tour

Welcome to the Outdoor Explorer program tour. On this page you´ll find some screenshots which will give you an idea of some of the functions of the Outdoor Explorer software. Please keep in mind, that all screenshots of the PC software are from the current Beta-Version of the software.

Working with the software is a four step procedure:
The general process is described as follows:
1. First you create a configuration (Maps, Behaviors, Preferences) and save this configuration with the help of the desktop software.
2. Then you transfer the configuration file onto the PDA using HotSync^©.
3. Your PDA is ready to be used.
3. At the end of an experiment, the data file(s) is (are) transferred from your PDA onto the desktop using HotSync^©.
4. After having transferred data from the PDA onto your desktop, you can open your data for further processing with the Outdoor Explorer desktop software for further processing.

Configuration

This is a screenshot of the configuration window in the PC software.
In the different fields you can define the types of behaviors and saving options, as well as create maps. Using the tree structure in the Preferences window you can compose your configuration for the experiment by selecting a behavior setup, a map and saving options.

Working on the PDA

After transfering the Configuration file on the PDA you are ready to start an experiment.

	Map and Position After you have started Outdoor Explorer you can tap on the screen and record the position in a rough 10x10 grid (e.g. 100 x 100 meters divided into 100 grids of 10 x 10 meters each). On the rough grid you will see a map. You can edit your own maps and save them by means of the Preference Screen. After you have determined the rough position you can toggle to the Fine Positioning Screen (e.g. 10 x 10 meters divided into 100 grids of 1 x 1 meter each).

	Toggle On the Fine Positioning Screen you will see a small part of the map. You can enter the exact position of your subject here. If you are working with animals that fly or climb, you can also enter the height your focal animal has positioned itself at.

	Behavior You can enter up to four letters or numbers to record behavioral observations at any time. Additionally, you can define a list of up to 15 different behaviors with up to 15 modifiers each. You can select from the list by tapping on the 'Behav.'-Button (see below).


	Weather You can enter the weather conditions any time.

	Temperature In the same way you can enter the temperature. Additionally, you have 3 undefined fields (F1, F2 and F3) where you can enter any further information you grab.

	Preferences On the Preference Screen you can determine whether the conditional data (weather, temperature, F1 -F3) should be remembered or discarded after the next entry. This is very useful since weather conditions may not change as rapid as for example predator conditions you may have noted in F1. If you decide not to use the fine map, you can determine that a change of the rough position will be counted. You can edit, load or create new maps here, too. If you want to measure data for a new animal you can restart the Outdoor Explorer from here.

Working on the PC

After downloading the result files from the PDA to the PC you can open these files in the PC software to work with the data.

Raw data

This is a screenshot of the raw data in a result file.
All data (time, date, position, conditions, behaviors etc.) are in one spreadsheet. You can export the data in various file formats.

Behaviors

Statistical summary of the behaviors that were observed during an experiment.

Positions

Combination of an observed behavior (dots) and the position of the animal.

Conditions

Weather conditions and temperatures are represented in graphs.

If you have questions concerning this product, please don´t hesitate to use the following e-mail:
outdoor_explorer@biobserve.com

European headquarter:
BIOBSERVE GmbH • Koenigswinterer Str. 418 • 53227 Bonn • Germany
Phone: +49 228 2016020 • Fax: +49 228 2016029
info@biobserve.com

North America:
2125 Center Ave. • Suite 500 • Fort Lee, NJ 07024
Phone: 201-302-6083 • Fax: 201-302-6062
info@biobserve.com