ANIMA Collar Tag Sensor Calibrations and Power Management

GPS tracking collars, the current method of noninvasively studying large mammals, give limited and undetailed data. The ANIMA project seeks to improve upon tracking collars by creating a tag that integrates a GPS with a magnetometer and an accelerometer. The additional sensors will give information about animal physiology and daily behaviors. To remain a commercially viable option to research scientists, the ANIMA tag must have a long life deployment while operating on limited battery capacity. Therefore, the onboard sensors must work in the most energy efficient way possible. This project focused on characterizing the sensors. Their long term stability was characterized, their start-up times were measured, and their power consumption in various settings was determined. Using the information gathered, the sensors can be optimized for both energy use and performance. Keywords—accelerometer; magnetometer; GPS; current draw; stability