Camera-trapping version 3.0: current constraints and future priorities for development

Glover-Kapfer, Soto-Navarro, and Wearn surveyed the state of camera-trap technology and practice, identifying the constraints that limit the method and the innovations needed to overcome them. They reviewed hardware limitations such as trigger speed, detection-zone variability, battery life, and data-transfer bottlenecks, alongside analytical and data-management challenges. Looking forward, they outlined priorities including networked and real-time cameras, improved sensors, automated identification, and standardized data infrastructure that would enable large-scale, near-continuous monitoring. The paper framed an agenda for the next generation of camera trapping. As a forward-looking review connecting technology, analysis, and conservation needs, it is widely cited in discussions of where the field is heading and what developments would most improve wildlife monitoring.