From Radio Telemetry to Ultra-Low-Power Sensor Networks: Tracking Bats in the Wild

Sensor networks have successfully been used for wildlife monitoring and tracking of different species. When it comes to small animals such as smaller birds, mammals, or even insects, the current approach is to use extremely lightweight RF tags to be located using radio telemetry. A new quantum leap in technology is needed to overcome these limitations and to enable new ways for observations of larger numbers of small animals. In an interdisciplinary team, we are working on the different aspects of such a new technology. In particular, we report on our findings on a sensor network based tracking solution for bats. Our system is based on integrated localization and wireless communication protocols for ultra-low power systems. This requires coding techniques for improved reliability as well as ranging solutions for tracking hunting bats. We address the technological and methodical problems related to system design, software support, and protocol design. First field experiments have been conducted that showcase the capabilities of our system.