trapping wild hogs - state harnesses power by using cellular network

Trapping Wild Hogs

State harneses power by using cellular network

  • By Adam Cohen
  • Apr 01, 2013

Trapping wild hogs
Helping the state of Tennessee with a solar-powered, IP video-based solution to catch wild hogs, ICRealtime has installed an autonomous remedy by harnessing the power of Verizon’s nationwide cellular network.

Wild hogs cause an estimated $1.5 billion annually nationwide in damages to agriculture, wildlife habitats and waterways. In addition, they carry diseases harmful to livestock, other animals and humans.

The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) has the daunting task of controlling the wild hog population. An initial, informal return-oninvestment study revealed that the state pays thousands of dollars per year, mostly in man-hours, trapping and dispatching these hogs.

Most of the hours are spent attempting to learn the hogs’ feeding patterns by reviewing amateur snapshots taken by TWRA staff. The inexpensive, standalone cameras record only still pictures on an SD card and offer no live viewing.

This requires someone to travel to each site to retrieve pictures and replace camera batteries, or the cameras would fail and miss vital trending information. Additionally, scores of painstaking hours are spent reviewing images to establish when the hogs gather to feed inside a trap.

Once a pattern is determined, two officers schedule the best time to wait for hours in a tree stand for the hogs to return to the trap. Using a watchful eye and a keychain-sized remote control, they hit a button to trap as many hogs as they can.

IC Realtime’s innovative M2M solution acts as a digital force multiplier to increase the officers’ productivity by enabling them to be in two places at once. After deployment, these systems keep a watchful eye 24/7 on each trap.

The system records the movement in HD, then sends out snapshots of all of the action, instantly alerting the officer, who can be offsite conducting other duties for the state.

These systems can be customized to work in virtually any environment. They monitor themselves and automatically send out system health status reports, such as solar power wattage, battery voltage, charging capacity and temperature.

The system is built with self-correcting mechanisms to power down and recharge when sunshine is lacking. The cameras additionally send out alerts if any abnormalities occur.

The ICmyLIFE Portal allows these remote systems to send video and alerts to the cloud from long-term storage, further reducing costs by limiting the amount of video storage devices needed to be deployed onsite. This M2M cloud-based platform provides live video on demand without special software needs, or requiring staff to remember IP addresses and passwords.

Features such as instant time-lapse playback, advanced calendar searching, event-based notifications and digital output controls for switches, relays and lights help customers save money, one click at a time.

This article originally appeared in the April 2013 issue of Security Today.

About the Author

Adam Cohen is the CEO of the M2M Advisors division of ICRealtime.

Featured

  • Report: 47 Percent of Security Service Providers Are Not Yet Using AI or Automation Tools

    Trackforce, a provider of security workforce management platforms, today announced the launch of its 2025 Physical Security Operations Benchmark Report, an industry-first study that benchmarks both private security service providers and corporate security teams side by side. Based on a survey of over 300 security professionals across the globe, the report provides a comprehensive look at the state of physical security operations. Read Now

    • Guard Services

  • Identity Governance at the Crossroads of Complexity and Scale

    Modern enterprises are grappling with an increasing number of identities, both human and machine, across an ever-growing number of systems. They must also deal with increased operational demands, including faster onboarding, more scalable models, and tighter security enforcement. Navigating these ever-growing challenges with speed and accuracy requires a new approach to identity governance that is built for the future enterprise. Read Now

  • Eagle Eye Networks Launches AI Camera Gun Detection

    Eagle Eye Networks, a provider of cloud video surveillance, recently introduced Eagle Eye Gun Detection, a new layer of protection for schools and businesses that works with existing security cameras and infrastructure. Eagle Eye Networks is the first to build gun detection into its platform. Read Now

  • Report: AI is Supercharging Old-School Cybercriminal Tactics

    AI isn’t just transforming how we work. It’s reshaping how cybercriminals attack, with threat actors exploiting AI to mass produce malicious code loaders, steal browser credentials and accelerate cloud attacks, according to a new report from Elastic. Read Now

  • Pragmatism, Productivity, and the Push for Accountability in 2025-2026

    Every year, the security industry debates whether artificial intelligence is a disruption, an enabler, or a distraction. By 2025, that conversation matured, where AI became a working dimension in physical identity and access management (PIAM) programs. Observations from 2025 highlight this turning point in AI’s role in access control and define how security leaders are being distinguished based on how they apply it. Read Now

Most   Popular

New Products

  • Connect ONE’s powerful cloud-hosted management platform provides the means to tailor lockdowns and emergency mass notifications throughout a facility – while simultaneously alerting occupants to hazards or next steps, like evacuation.

    Connect ONE®

    Connect ONE’s powerful cloud-hosted management platform provides the means to tailor lockdowns and emergency mass notifications throughout a facility – while simultaneously alerting occupants to hazards or next steps, like evacuation.

  • Compact IP Video Intercom

    Viking’s X-205 Series of intercoms provide HD IP video and two-way voice communication - all wrapped up in an attractive compact chassis.

  • ResponderLink

    ResponderLink

    Shooter Detection Systems (SDS), an Alarm.com company and a global leader in gunshot detection solutions, has introduced ResponderLink, a groundbreaking new 911 notification service for gunshot events. ResponderLink completes the circle from detection to 911 notification to first responder awareness, giving law enforcement enhanced situational intelligence they urgently need to save lives. Integrating SDS’s proven gunshot detection system with Noonlight’s SendPolice platform, ResponderLink is the first solution to automatically deliver real-time gunshot detection data to 911 call centers and first responders. When shots are detected, the 911 dispatching center, also known as the Public Safety Answering Point or PSAP, is contacted based on the gunfire location, enabling faster initiation of life-saving emergency protocols.