Collaborative Research: IIBR Multidisciplinary: mSAIL (Michigan Small Animal Integrated Logger): a milligram-scale, multi-modal sensor and analytics monitoring platform

密歇根大学和匹兹堡大学被授予开发和演示一种新的记录器和分析平台，用于小型陆地动物监测，名为mSAIL(密歇根小动物综合记录器)。MSAIL是一种贴在动物身上的毫米级微型标签，用于记录、存储和传递环境、生理和行为数据。这些信息不仅对于更丰富地了解动物和生态系统的功能是至关重要的，而且对于预测这些系统将如何随着地球气候变化而变化也是至关重要的。这项研究和由此产生的技术将产生重大的广泛影响，如吸引公众参与和提高科学素养，因为mSAIL的机器学习算法将使用社区志愿者收集的真实世界数据进行培训。同时，这项工作将为跨学科环境中的不同参与者提供大量的指导和培训机会。该研究计划解决了开发和应用毫米级数据记录器的技术挑战，改进了信息处理和可视化。该计划旨在建立一个50毫克毫米级的mSAIL设备，该设备1)同时测量光强度、温度、气压和加速度，2)将记录的数据存储在非易失性存储器中，3)无线传输收集的数据。一个集成的芯片大小的电池将支持设备运行一个月，而一个能量收集光伏电池将以低至500勒克斯的光强提供基本上永久的运行。使用mSAIL，同时记录动物行为和环境的日益复杂的数据集将从扩展的物种保留库中获得，低至亚克重量。MSAIL将促进跨学科合作，以解决一系列问题，包括人为环境变化(如光污染)对野生动物的影响，以及帝王蝶等小动物的远距离迁徙。该奖项是由综合组织系统分部动物行为项目共同资助的。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

An award is made to the University of Michigan and the University of Pittsburgh to develop and demonstrate a new logger and analytics platform for small terrestrial animal monitoring called mSAIL (Michigan Small Animal Integrated Logger). mSAIL is a millimeter-scale miniaturized tag attached to animals to record, store, and relay environmental, physiological, and behavioral data. This information is critical not only for a richer mechanistic understanding of animal and ecosystem function, but also in order to predict how these systems will change as Earth’s climate changes. This research and resulting technology will have a significant broad impact such as engaging the public and raising scientific literacy because the machine learning algorithms for mSAIL will be trained using real-world data collected by community volunteers. As well, this work will provide substantial mentoring and training opportunities for diverse participants in a cross-disciplinary environment.This research program tackles technical challenges for developing and applying millimeter-scale data loggers with improved information processing and visualization. The program aims to build a 50 mg millimeter-scale mSAIL device that 1) simultaneously measures light intensity, temperature, air pressure, and acceleration, 2) stores the recorded data in non-volatile memory, and 3) wirelessly communicates collected data. An integrated, chip-size battery will support device operation for one month and an energy-harvesting photovoltaic cell will provide essentially perpetual operation with as little as 500 lux light level. Using mSAIL, increasingly complex datasets that simultaneously document animal behavior and environment will be acquired from an expanded repertoire of species, down to those of sub-gram weight. mSAIL will spur cross-disciplinary collaborations to address a range of problems including the impact of anthropogenic environmental change (e.g. light pollution) on wildlife and the long-range migration of small animals such as monarch butterflies. This award is co-funded with support from the Animal Behavior Program in the Division of Integrative Organismal Systems.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.