Collaborative Research: IDBR: WildSense: Instrumenting Wildlife to Gather Contact Rate Information Using Delay Tolerant Wireless Sensor Networks

博尔德市科罗拉多大学的Shivakant Mishra博士和Richard Han博士以及科罗拉多州立大学和柯林斯堡的科罗拉多野生动物部的Tom Hobbs博士和Michael米勒博士获得了一笔赠款。项目的名称是？合作研究：IDBR：WildSense：使用延迟容忍无线传感器网络测量野生动物收集接触率信息？该项目的主要目标是设计、实现和部署WildSense，这是一种基于新兴的移动的、延迟容忍的无线传感器网络技术的新型系统，用于远程跟踪自然环境中的自由放养动物。WildSense预计将在定性和定量方面提供变革性的改进，超过目前用于研究野生动物的最先进的遥测系统。WildSense提供的定性改进包括收集位置信息以及自由放养动物之间接触的时间、位置和持续时间的能力;定量改进包括收集数据的准确性提高了十倍，仪器和劳动力成本降低了十倍，以及管理整个系统的更容易的方法。该项目由三个活动组成：（2）构建嵌入式软件、网络和应用程序代码，以适应当前无线传感器设备上有限的存储器、无线电带宽、CPU处理速度和能量寿命所带来的资源约束;以及（3）在完全受控的实验室环境中测试和部署WildSense，在围场中使用驯服的圈养黑尾鹿作为测试对象，在野外环境中使用自由放养的黑尾鹿。WildSense有望改变动物生态学研究，使广大用户受益。这些好处包括通过降低单位成本将仪器动物的样本量增加十倍，从根本上改善动物与研究人员的数据交流，以及提供观察动物之间接触模式的独特机会。该项目还解决了设计和实施移动的，延迟容忍传感器网络，为最终用户提供准确的数据的基本挑战。这些挑战是由困难的环境条件，包括自然元素，野生动物运动，和有损无线通信，以及资源限制，包括有限的能量寿命，内存，带宽和处理能力。WildSense系统为探索可靠性、准确性、及时性和寿命之间的权衡提供了许多机会。该项目将培养本科生和研究生在计算机科学工程、生态学和野生动物管理方面进行跨学科工作。此外，该项目还将让代表性不足群体的学生参与发展和实地评价的所有方面。

A grant has been awarded to Drs. Shivakant Mishra and Richard Han at the University of Colorado, Boulder, and Drs. Tom Hobbs and Michael Miller at the Colorado State University and Colorado Division of Wildlife, Fort Collins. The title of the project is ?Collaborative Research: IDBR: WildSense: Instrumenting Wildlife to Gather Contact Rate Information Using Delay Tolerant Wireless Sensor Networks?. The main goal of this project is to design, implement, and deploy WildSense, a novel system for remotely tracking free-ranging animals in natural environments based on the emerging technology of mobile, delay-tolerant, wireless sensor networks. WildSense is expected to provide transformative improvements, both qualitatively and quantitatively, over the state-of-the-art telemetry systems currently being used to study wildlife. Qualitative improvements offered by WildSense include an ability to collect location information as well as timing, location, and duration of contacts among free-ranging animals; quantitative improvements include a tenfold enhancement in the accuracy of collected data, a tenfold reduction in instrument and labor costs, and a much easier way of managing the entire system.This project is comprised of three activities: (1) Developing a hardware prototype that can be easily carried by a wide range of wild vertebrates; (2) Building the embedded software, networking and application code to accommodate the resource constraints posed by limited memory, radio bandwidth, CPU processing speed, and energy lifetime available on current wireless sensor devices; and (3) Testing and deploying WildSense in a fully controlled lab environment, a paddock using tame, captive mule deer as test subjects, and in a field environment using free-ranging mule deer.WildSense is expected to transform studies of animal ecology to benefit a broad community of users. These benefits include the potential for increasing sample sizes of instrumented animals tenfold by reducing per unit costs, for fundamentally improving communicating data from animals to researchers, and for affording unique opportunities to observe contact patterns among animals. The project also addresses basic challenges in designing and implementing mobile, delay tolerant sensor networks that provide accurate data for end-users. These challenges are posed by difficult environmental conditions including the natural elements, wildlife locomotion, and lossy wireless communication, as well as resource constraints including limited energy lifetime, memory, bandwidth, and processing capability. The WildSense system presents many opportunities for exploring the tradeoffs between reliability, accuracy, timeliness, and longevity. This project will train undergraduate and graduate students to do interdisciplinary work in computer science & engineering, ecology and wildlife management. In addition, the project will involve students from underrepresented groups in all aspects of development and field evaluation.