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

科罗拉多大学博尔德分校的希瓦坎特·米什拉博士和理查德·韩博士，以及科罗拉多州立大学和科罗拉多野生动物分部科罗拉多分部的汤姆·霍布斯和迈克尔·米勒博士获得了一笔赠款。该项目的标题是？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以收集接触率信息？该项目的主要目标是设计、实现和部署WildSense，这是一个基于新兴的移动、容延、无线传感器网络技术的新型系统，用于在自然环境中远程跟踪自由放养的动物。与目前用于研究野生动物的最先进的遥测系统相比，WildSense有望在质量和数量上提供革命性的改进。WildSense提供的质量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；定量改进包括收集数据的准确性提高10倍，仪器和劳动力成本减少10倍，以及管理整个系统的方式更加容易。该项目由三个活动组成：(1)开发一个可以被广泛的野生脊椎动物轻松携带的硬件原型；(2)构建嵌入式软件、网络和应用代码，以适应当前无线传感器设备上有限的内存、无线电带宽、CPU处理速度和能量寿命带来的资源限制；以及(3)在完全受控的实验室环境、使用驯养的骡鹿作为测试对象的围场以及使用自由放养的骡鹿的野外环境中测试和部署WildSense。WildSense有望改变动物生态学的研究，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的潜力，从根本上改善动物与研究人员之间的数据交流，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、容忍延迟的传感器网络方面的基本挑战，为最终用户提供准确的数据。这些挑战是由艰苦的环境条件构成的，包括自然要素、野生动物的迁徙和有损的无线通信，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系统提供了许多机会来探索可靠性、准确性、及时性和寿命之间的权衡。该项目将培养本科生和研究生从事计算机科学与工程、生态学和野生动物管理方面的跨学科工作。此外，该项目将让代表人数不足的群体的学生参与发展和实地评估的各个方面。

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.