I have recently received the results of an interesting experiment done with
Robin, Cellguide's
snapshot GPS tracker so I thought I should share it with the Community.
Becuase of its size and weight Robin enables new applications of GPS technology, including wildlife tracking of course. Particularly of species on which was very difficult in the past.
Test Setup
- CellGuide Robin GPS Logger with 100mAh battery (2.2 grams): total weight 4.75 grams
- Programmed to operate every day between 5pm to 5am
- Total length of the experiment: 72 hours
- Operating regime:
- Fix every 3 seconds
- Medium sensitivity (GPS snapshot length of 128ms)
The test was conducted by researches from Tel Aviv University. They packed Robin in a light weight plastic wrap along with a UHF beacon device, and attached everything to the bat using a special medical glue that only sticks for a few days.
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| Figure 2: A picture of the fruit bat with Robin on the back. |
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| Figure 3: The test area. |
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During the first night, the bat visited three other trees along its path. On the second night, the bat took a bit of a different path but still quite similar to the one from the previous night and flew to the same tree. Then, pretty much as the two previous nights, the bat flew to his favorite tree again.
Figure 4: From left to right: first, second, and third night
The Robin logger was found two weeks later inside the cave, using a UHF beacon device. A summary of the experiment is given below.
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| Figure 5: All nights on the same map. |
Despite this experiment being simply very cool for a GPS passionate as I am, I shall probably mention here that
I don't work for Cell-guide so for further information on the Robin GPS Logger please do contact the experts!
info@cell-guide.comCheers,
Michele
