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Telemetry
is the science of gathering information remotely. The ARTS system uses radio
waves emitted from collars or tags on animals to understand animal locations
and physiology. Radio waves are beamed from an animal to
several directional antennas on our towers, which are then compared to yield
a bearing. Bearings from multiple towers can be used to calculate direction.
Additional antennas can be used to gather continuous, physiological data.
Seven towers are strategically placed throughout the island, each of which can gather information from an animal and communicate information back to the lab. The towers are often deep in the forest, and provide their own power with solar panels. Custom receivers can process the signals to calculate bearings as quickly
as 60 ms, depending on transmitter type, allowing the system to keep track
of many animals at |
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| The direction finding antenna array on top of each ARTS tower. | |||
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| A member of the ARTS crew working on Fausto tower (Photo by Christian Ziegler) | |||
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| An Automated Receiving Unit (ARU) within a waterproof box at the bottom of an ARTS tower. The 8 coax cable run to 8 antennas 40m overhead. |
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