Great Duck Island*

In the spring of 2002, the Intel Research Laboratory at Berkeley and UC Berkeley initiated a collaboration with the College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor and the University of California at Berkeley to deploy wireless sensor networks on Great Duck Island, Maine. These networks monitor the microclimates in and around nesting burrows used by the Leach's Storm Petrel. Our goal is to develop a habitat monitoring kit that enables researchers worldwide to engage in the non-intrusive and non-disruptive monitoring of sensitive wildlife and habitats.
As of mid-October 2002, nearly 1 million readings have been logged from 32 motes deployed on the island. Each mote has a microcontroller, a low-power radio, memory, and batteries. For habitat monitoring, we added sensors for temperature, humidity, barometric pressure, and mid-range infrared. Motes periodically sample and relay their sensor readings to computer base stations on the island. These in turn feed into a satellite link that allows researchers to access real-time environmental data over the Internet.
*This project is not officially supported through CITRIS funds, but the faculty and topical affiliations are sufficiently strong that it is listed here for referral and convenience.