A wireless activity monitoring system for monkey behavioural study

A Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) for monitoring of animal behaviours has been proposed. Preliminary results are presented here in order to demonstrate the potential of the system, which is aimed to investigate wild life of two species of monkeys in their natural habitat in the Mexican jungle. The novel platform comprises sensing nodes capable of measuring and recording the position, posture and activity level of animals. Each node is provided with wireless communication capabilities and the network topology includes a base station connected to a personal computer, in which the graphical user interface (GUI) and the proposed algorithm allow the visualization and processing of the collected data. Special care is giving to power-saving issues by applying power-aware techniques aimed to prolong the lifespan of the deployed sensors and devices. Results show high consistency and accuracy in the system response, with data being transmitted and recorded efficiently. Further improvements are envisaged and proposed for the intelligent monitoring system.