Along the Deerfield River in western Massachusetts, engineers and biologists are using a wireless network to track snapping turtles — a species they worry may be headed for decline as land development shrinks their habitat.
TurtleNet, funded by grants from the National Science Foundation, records and stores information, then transmits data from one device to another. Then TurtleNet relays all the saved information to a central location while running on self-charging batteries.
The solar-powered computers are light enough so they don’t weigh the turtles down, and they don’t interrupt their mating habits, said Jacob Sorber, a doctoral candidate in computer science who designed TurtleNet.
The sensor platform is glued to the shells of about 15 turtles found in spots near the Deerfield swamp.
The sensor platform, uses a Crossbow Mica2Dot, a GPS receiver, a flexible solar panel, and a small 250mAhr lithium polymer battery. The turtle node uses the UMass Capsule file system for storing data.
The devices will take periodic readings of the reptiles’ location and body temperature. When one computer-carrying snapper gets within a tenth-of-a-mile of another, the machines swap information.
The series of short-distance transmissions allows for long battery life in each computer, and the solar panels attached to the units are expected to constantly keep the batteries charged. Without a relay system, a longer transmission would require a larger battery that would drain too quickly or be too big for a turtle to carry.
The turtle-to-turtle relay ends when one of the snappers passes near a single base station that receives all the accumulated information. The base station sends the data to the UMass-Amherst campus about 15 miles away, where biologists are charting each turtle’s whereabouts.
Jones thinks the snappers may roam up to 10 miles from their Deerfield swamp home, but it’s in their nature to return to the bog where the base station is.
By mapping where and how the snappers move, they’re trying to generate enough information that could be used to help protect turtle habitats.
UMass Amherst students are also working to build a wide-are wireless testbed covering the Town of Amherst. They plan to eventually create a 17 square mile wireless mesh network to provide service public mobile users. Their goal is to install approximately 200 outdoor access points (and in more vehicles than the 40 buses already operating). UMass Transit, a student-operated bus and van system, is a partner in the project.
In related news, MachineTalker, a developer of smart wireless security networks and tracking systems, announces that the company will offer a cost competitive remote access GSM/GPRS cellular link. MachineTalker uses products from DataRemote. The new DataRemote cellular modem with integrated GPS will connect into a wireless mesh network of Talkers that service environmental sensors or that monitor cargo in transit.
Satellite phone company Globalstar, announced today a new group of satellite data modems known as the Tracer 3 Product Family from Guardian Mobility’s suite of simplex data products.
The new satellite data modems are designed to communicate via the Globalstar satellite simplex data network (upstream only), and are capable of providing data monitoring and GPS-based asset tracking information to customers from remote regions.
The wireless devices integrate a number of innovations including new firmware with features and sensor inputs, which makes the product family uniquely adaptable for a number of ground-based vertical markets.
The Tracer 3 Product Family joins Guardian Mobility’s suite of simplex data products which includes the company’s
The modem can be housed in a weatherproof NEMA 4X rated enclosure and be line powered with external input voltages ranging from 9 to 28V DC. A battery backup option is available enabling more than 2 years of operation while disconnected from external power. Other features include an integrated high capacity data logger, integrated counters, store and forward capability, a choice of enclosures plus the ability to transmit speed and heading information as well as location coordinates.
Both the Tracer 3 and Tracer 3IO models provide features for a variety of emergency asset, fleet tracking and data monitoring applications. The modem can also be used for a number of remote monitoring and alarm applications, both within and beyond the reach of traditional wireless and terrestrial infrastructure. Data such as location coordinates, remote status and other sensor information can be directly sent to customers.
.gif)
