Druid Wildlife Tracking Solution is designed with the philosophy of “Deployment and done”. It features comprehensive data types, long term lifespan, self-adaptation between far-field and near-field transmission, multi-account collaboration over cloud, data visualization, real-time behavior recording, and many built-in tools for preliminary data processing. With this solution, the user can save a lot of time and other related costs on obtaining the data, while focus more on their research designing and in-depth data analyzing and application.
Application Scenarios
Migration and Stopover
DEBUT series devices are built with injection molded housing, intelligent power management system (IREM), and high precision positioning module, which secures the consistent data collecting performance even in the extreme weather conditions during long distance migration. Researchers could intuitively infer the energy consumption strategy and correlate environmental parameters based on the visual statistics of migration and stopover illustrated by massive and multidimensional data. Despite up to 10 different transmitting options and more combinations, sufficient storage and geo fencing on board capabilities enable the DEBUT series to switch to the most reasonable working mode facing complex situations in the no coverage zone.
Realtime Movement
DEBUT series, powered by the BOOST (Battery Optimized Overclocking Strategy Tuning) technology, is capable of collecting GNSS fixes up to an interval of 0.1 seconds. IREM power management system and high efficiency solar panels facilitate the trackers harvest more energy and consume less in resting status of the animals, which makes real time tracking happen. 3D flight animation on Google earth can be automatically generated for keynotes with a simple click. Researchers could also integrate high frequency GPS and proximity results to explore the flight strategy and decision mechanism in the group flight activity.
Breeding and Homing
GNSS is a powerful tool for monitoring breeding and homing activities, while sampling resolution is sacrificed in most application cases when considering the bottleneck of the energy. Druid provides an alternative solution which works similar to infrared cameras. Instead of infrared detection and triggering, DEBUT series devices interact with gateways around the breeding or homing area via Intelink, allowing researchers to reveal accurate time of enter and exit activities in seconds, to evaluate the influence of homing time, homing movement patterns, and environmental factors on homing behaviors, such as forest coverage and landscape connectivity, and to explore reproductive behavior, site fidelity, behavior rhythm, seasonal activities, home range, and other scientific interests.
Behavioral Algorithm Development
DEBUT series devices have a built-in three-axis accelerometer with a sensitivity of 0.001 g and a default frequency of 25 Hz, which is adjustable based on the behavior movement patterns. Researchers can use Ecotopia mobile App to stream real time acceleration data from the deployed devices within several hundred meters. Video recording and behavior labeling can be conducted simultaneously. The labeled ACC raw data can be used for algorithm development while the video is kept as backup content for data quality control. Most DEBUT series devices support algorithm upgrades via OTA, which facilitates the deployed trackers to acquire the capability of on board computing for behavior recognition.
Terrestrial Species
Druid designs terrestrial tracking solutions in three deployment methods: ear tag, neck collar and strap backpack. Major components of the terrestrial trackers including electronic cores, energy harvest and storage modules, belts, locking and other accessories, are highly modulated and provided with diverse options in order to satisfy variable customized demands. Almost every avian trackers can be remodeled into a terrestrial collar or backpack, with the weight range from less than 10 grams to several hundreds grams. A hybrid power system with primary and rechargeable battery is available to give the consideration of longer lifespan and tolerance of severe environmental conditions.
Diving Species
Druid developed two models, DEBUT YACHT with satellite communication and DEBUT YAWL with Intelink, for diving animal study. Taking advantage of the dry/wet sensor, the devices will collect the depth in a programmed interval or in real time, which works as “BOOST in water” to help study diving behavior and activity rhythm. Instead, the GNSS and transmitting modules are automatically turned off for conserving energy. They only work when the diving activity and the tagged species come out of the surface of the water. Selected models from avian trackers including DEBUT MINI and DEBUT FLEX can also be used in some circumstances based on our guidance.
Nocturnal Species
Researchers always have to confront the challenge of power limitation on tracking nocturnal species since no promising solution exists to harvest energy in darkness. Druid leverages the capability of Ubicomp and Intelink to partially solve the problem, which helps invest energy to collect the most interesting data. GNSS fixing can be only activated during the specific time at night for Owls or Bats since they rarely move during day time. Even if there is abnormal activity, Ubicomp can turn on all sensors for monitoring triggered by behavior recognition. Intelink facilitates data transmitting through gateways close to nesting areas, silences most energy consuming modules within the home range, and helps search and recapture the animals for battery recharge.
Hibernating Species
DEBUT series devices support conditional dormancy mode powered by time based Ubicomp. The device can be kept in ultra low power consumption status up to several months similar to hibernating animals. Accelerometer and temperature are the only continuous running sensors to monitor the animal hibernating activity and surrounding environment, which can also be used to determine the start and end times of hibernation. The abnormal wake-up recognition function can capture the unexpected ODBA during hibernation and assist research to capture the hibernation patterns of targeted species. DEBUT series can be deployed on mammals in a variety of sizes, from bears to rodents, as well as turtles, amphibians, reptiles, etc.
Small Species
Most species stay mysterious due to the weight limit of the tracker, while the trackable species will be exponentially increased by decreasing the size of the device. Druid prepares to launch DEBUT GEO at weight around 1 gram with geolocating and accelerometer leveraged by Intelink, pushing the boundary to pass the halfway of more than 10000 avian species. Interacting with gateways, the high resolution track can be obtained based on triangle positioning with an accuracy around 20 meters or less. A brand new product line DEBUT ULTRA with the weight range between 2 grams and 3 grams will also be launched in 2022, compiled with GNSS and transmitting options out of Intelink, LoRa, 5G, and Argos, which provides more tracking solutions for small species including insects, amphibians, and reptiles.
Electronic Banding
Druid is motivated to upgrade the traditional method of using color and number to identify the animals, through the combination of circuit core and plastic ring. Instead of listening and observing, electronic bands enable robotic gateway to monitor the targeted wildlife, facilitate smartphones to search and count the individuals, and allow the crowd to contribute raw data collecting and labeling for behavior modeling. Collaborated with Interrex, Druid has launched two models for large birds such as swans and geese. Smaller versions for most common bands are under development and will be released in 2022.
