Design of a multi-week Sound & Motion Recording & Telemetry (SMRT) tag for behavioral studies on whales

Abstract

Successful implementation of the new tag requires the integration of a diverse range of mechanical, electronic and software sub-systems, as well as the development of significant new technology. The project is therefore challenging from an engineering perspective but also requires the close collaboration of tag design and manufacturing groups that otherwise work independently and, to some extent, compete in the marketplace. There is a small risk that we encounter difficulties in setting up a framework for collaboration or that, after preliminary engineering analyses, we judge the project to be infeasible. To mitigate these risks, we have divided the initial (Yr 1) project into two separately budgeted phases. The first phase will involve a group meeting in which both the collaboration structure of the project and the engineering challenges are evaluated.We will decide during the meeting if we are able to proceed with the project. If a satisfactory outcome is reached, we will go on to address two critical engineering challenges in Phase 2 with the objective of facilitating prototype manufacture of the tag in 2016. A detailed description of the tasks within each phase is given below.

Document Details

Document Type
DoD Grant Award
Publication Date
Aug 12, 2016
Source ID
N000141512579

Entities

People

  • Mark A. Johnson

Organizations

  • Office of Naval Research
  • United States Navy
  • University of St Andrews

Tags

Fields of Study

  • Engineering

Readers

  • Marine Mammal Biology
  • Software Engineering
  • Systems Analysis and Design

Technology Areas

  • Microelectronics