Wildlife Sighting Chatbot

Background

WildIsrael is a non-profit organization that runs a public participation database for wildlife sightings.

This geographic information system, or GIS, is useful for several reasons:

• It adds to scientific knowledge;
• It informs conservation planning; and
• it promotes public engagement with nature.

The Problem

Contributors could report wildlife sightings in two ways:

• By filling out a webform privately; or
• by describing the sighting in natural language in a community discussion channel.

By and large, each of these approaches catered to a different stakeholder:

• Webforms generated tabular data that was easier for admins to process;
• But writing in natural language appealed to contributors in two ways:
• it was more intuitive to write a description as one normally would than to fill out a form, and
• there were interactions on community discussion channels that fostered a sense of competence and belonging.

Hence, the organization sought to find something that would combine the best of both worlds.

The Solution

• The chatbot yields tabular data that is complete and easier for admins to work with, compared to reports given in natural language. This reduces the admin workload.
• At the same time, the chatbot makes for a more conversational experience for contributors, compared to filling out forms.
• Additionally, each wildlife sighting can be given a different level of privacy, meaning it can either be:
• posted publicly to a community discussion channel (which can contribute to engagement), or
• kept private, for the admins’ eyes only (which some users prefer for several reasons, including their own sake and the animals’).

Research and Design Process

This presentation (in Hebrew) explains the research and design process:

Prototype

The prototype only works with the following input:

1. Species: Hedgehog
2. Where did you see it: Haifa
3. When did you see the animal: Now
4. In what condition was the animal: 1 (Alive)
5. Enter 1 again (to confirm)

Client Testimonial