Sample collection
Collecting samples from lakes and ocean and preparing them for microscopy
Microscopy
Employing the open source OpenFlexure Microscope (OFM) available for anyone to build
Image collection
Collect and upload data to repositories dedicated to biodiversity monitoring
PKI Utveckling AB
We strive to improve upon the ways we collect data from microscopic environments. By developing and promoting different avenues for teachers, students as well as for the public to contribute towards our understanding of the environment we hope to help bridge the gap between the environmentally interested and environmental research participation. Using contemporary technologies we want to engage more people in environmental monitoring activities and raise awareness of biodiversity research, open science and open hardware.This initiative has resulted in multiple collaborations and activities with partners sharing similar interests (SMHI, Sydvatten, Vattenhallen Science centre, Lunds University, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, University of the West of England, Kävlingeåns Vattenråd).
Environmental monitoring and the need of more data
Microscopic organisms play a vital role in the global ecosystem. With their geochemical importance, being involved in fixation and regeneration of organic building blocks (carbon, nitrogen, sulphur and phosphorous) as well as producing the majority of atmospheric oxygen, they are the fundament in the aquatic food web and the backbone in our global ecosystem. In times of rapidly changing climate the ability to regularly measure spatial and temporal distribution of aquatic microorganisms is key when trying to understand the dynamics of climate change and its effects on aquatic ecosystems.Recent years advances in, and availability of, open-source hardware (through 3D printer technology) and open-source software has enabled for a paradigm shift when it comes to manufacturing and implementation of cost-effective scientific equipment. One example is the development of the user-friendly OpenFlexure microscope, inviting more people to explore microscopic environments and participate in, and contribute to, biodiversity research.
PKI Utveckling AB aims to further equip our society with tools to explore and document microscopic biodiversity. We want to igniting interest in microscopic biodiversity, creating awareness of environmental monitoring challenges in a rapidly changing climate while also providing a solution of collective engagement.
Recent activities
2025
Sep 2025
Hasslemöllafest

Tänk H2O! Bolmen

June 2025
Sjölabbet 2

Festival of Nature

Wroclaw Workshop

January 2025
Interviewed by the Lund University OpenScience blog.2024
November 2024
Presented Sjölabbet at Lund University Open Science Days 2024 (published abstract, page 7).June 2024
Sjölabbet

2023
September 2023
Forskar Fredag

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