Why It Matters:
Tracking wildlife has traditionally been done using expensive and power-hungry GPS trackers. However, researchers are now turning to small AirTag-compatible trackers that broadcast an animal’s location to nearby mobile devices.
Conservationists are embracing a new tool in the form of a $7 Bluetooth beacon housed in a 3D-printed case. This lightweight alternative to GPS trackers is barely noticeable to wildlife wearing it.
The tracker is powered by a Nordic Semiconductor nRF5 chip and programmed to broadcast as a Bluetooth low-energy beacon. By leveraging Apple’s Find My network, these trackers can utilize the vast network of iOS devices to anonymously report an animal’s position to researchers.
Researchers in Australia tested the BLE beacons and achieved positioning accuracy within about 100 meters. While not as precise as GPS, the low cost and minimal power requirements make these beacons a viable option for studying animal interactions and spatial relationships.
With the ease of deployment and cost-effectiveness of these trackers, researchers can equip entire populations of animals in remote areas without the need for hands-on tracking or recoveries.
Furthermore, the more BLE beacons deployed in the wild, the more mobile devices report locations to the central base. To overcome limitations in sparsely populated areas, researchers are exploring the use of Arduino, Raspberry Pi, or ESP32 boards to create a network of receivers.
Despite some limitations such as positional error and decreased accuracy near busy roads, these trackers have the potential to revolutionize wildlife tracking on a large scale.
Image credit: Stefan Schwinghammer
