Miniature Radio Tag for Animal Radio Tracking

Cornell Univ - State: Awds Made Prior May 2010, Ithaca NY

Investigators

Abstract

This award supports development of a miniaturized wildlife radio tag that incorporates a microprocessor and thus can use software to support complex broadcast schedules. This will allow researchers to apportion broadcast energy in relation to activity patterns and opportunities for tracking. Transmissions can be suspended entirely during periods when study animals are predictably inactive, or during seasons when they have migrated away from a study area. The radio tag will utilize digital frequency synthesis, to enable researchers to select the operating frequency of the tag at the time of deployment. Advanced power management features will enable this tag to outlast available radio tags, while producing a more powerful RF signal. A suite of sensors will be included in the radio tag design, to provide flexible options for monitoring conditions on the animal. An option for direct logging of raw data into extensive flash memory will be included in the tag design, enabling the use of efficient data compression algorithms to minimize broadcast time. As a byproduct, the tag can also function as a recoverable datalogger, with a the radio beacon serving as a recovery aid. Development of the sensors and their integration with the microprocessor will be conducted by students, with general oversight and coordination by a professional engineering team, using the advanced design and fabrication capabilities of the Cornell Nanofabrication Facility. The flexible telemetry schemes that can be realized by the tag should enable it to support most plans for orbiting a wildlife tracking receiver as well those using ground based receivers. The proposed tags will make more economical use of the radio frequency spectrum, thus minimizing interference with other uses of this increasingly scarce resource. Three engineering students will play important creative roles in this engineering project, gaining design and fabrication experience in the Cornell Nanofabrication Facility. All design products from this research will be placed in the public domain, to encourage other researchers to adapt this tag to meet unforeseen research opportunities.