A course for both Bachelor and Master in Physical Geography at Marburg University
In order to assess how animals and plants react to environmental changes, spatially and temporally high-resolution information on their species composition, numbers of individuals and possible reactions and interactions is required. Efforts are therefore being made to increasingly replace traditional survey methods with automated monitoring and to collect information directly at the study sites using sensors. This course aims to provide an insight into this rapidly developing field and the various ecological, technical and data-related aspects involved. Its primary objective is to cultivate critical thinking skills and foster discussions among students.
Intended learning outcomes
At the end of this course you should be able to
- Know the most important components and sensor types
- Understand the requirements of a monitoring system
- Describe basic codes for controlling the sensor
- Describe the basic concepts of data acquisition, storage and analysis
- Evaluate the limitations of different methods
- Document the steps required to build a sensor box
MSc students should also be able to develop and present a project to improve one aspect of a Proximate Sensor.
Setting
This course will take place in a synchronous setting in presence in room F 14 | 00A19 with the options of visiting real-world examples of proximate sensors around the city.
Preliminary Syllabus
The course encompasses 13 sessions from 23.04.2025 to 23.07.2025. Subject to changes.
| Session | Date | Aim | Content |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basics | |||
| 01 | 23.04.2025 | First things first | How this course works, Why is proximate sensing relevant? How do proximate sensing methods differ from traditional ones? |
| 02 | 30.04.2025 | conceptualization & principles | Which sensor boxes are there and how do they work? How to build your sensor box? |
| DIY Sensor Box | |||
| 03 | 07.05.2025 | Programming a basic cron job | How to program your sensor box? |
| 04 | 14.05.2025 | Building the base I | Building the basic sensor box |
| 05 | 21.05.2025 | Building the base II | Building the basic sensor box |
| 06 | 28.05.2025 | More programming, data | What could you do to improve the sensor box? |
| Analysing | |||
| 07 | 04.06.2025 | A short introduction to AI | How to use AI for analysing your results |
| 08 | 11.06.2025 | Analysing the data gathered | How effective are sensor boxes in capturing the target? |
| – | 18.06.2025 | Project week | No course today |
| Seminar block | |||
| 09 | 25.06.2025 | A little excurse | |
| 10 | 02.07.2025 | Seminar block I | Present a specific sensor box |
| 11 | 09.07.2025 | Seminar block II | Present a specific sensor box |
| 12 | 16.07.2025 | Final analysis | Time to work on your individual project |
| 13 | 23.07.2025 | Wrap up | Time for questions and feedback, individual projects problems, goodbye |
Team
