Internet of Things Based Remote Sensing for Ornithological Monitoring

Biologists have long struggled to monitor the behavior of wild animals, though remote sensing technologies have allowed recent insights into otherwise cryptic animal behaviors. Traditional methods of animal tracking use radio- or GPS-transmitters that are expensive, large, and unable to track animal movements on a fine-scale. Radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology poses a cheap and unobtrusive solution to track activity of animals near antenna stations, though current data loggers face problems with energy supply, data format, and data access/storage. Internet of Things (IoT) holds promise as a tool to advance this type of zoological research through its integration of embedded systems, sensors, control systems and wireless communications. In this project we propose the structure of a system that combines RFID and IoT technologies to enable real-time tracking of feeder usage by wild birds in central Arkansas. The proposed system will replace existing data loggers and provide continuous, automated, and real-time data collection with minimal personnel oversight. The design will be superior to more expensive commercially-available units and will represent a breakthrough in wildlife monitoring technology.