Designing a Raspberry Pi sensor network for remote observation of wildlife

Abstract

Scientists and the military need unobtrusive methods of observing wildlife. In this poster, we assess the feasibility of a Raspberry Pi sensor network for wildlife detection and monitoring. While technology for wildlife observation such as camera traps exist, they are expensive and/or require human intervention to collect the data. An inexpensive sensor network that can take pictures of wildlife with negligible human intervention will enable scientists and military personnel to discretely detect the presence of endangered wildlife. Each raspberry pi sensor node collects data for transmission to a remote user via an android app interface. In order to improve battery efficiency, the system features an adaptable network with four distinct sleep modes. We also explore increasing the range and durability of the network by integrating a mesh network.