RhinoPuck validation

The following validation process is put in place to validate antenna tuning and performance in a real rhino horn. The results are then used to optimize the final product version for field deployment.

Validation steps

A number of validation steps is put in place in this process, such that the RhinoPuck product is optimal for field deployment.

• Fake rhino horn testing at IRNAS, Slovenia - Completed

  • Goal: establish antenna tuning parameters

  • Goal: define the installation process

  • Goal: produce units for field testing by Peace Parks

• Temporary testing in fresh and removed rhino horn at Peace Parks, South Africa - In progress

  • Goal: Obtain fresh rhino-horn that is removed from the animal and perform testing

  • Goal: Validate performance of multiple tuning versions of RhinoPuck by temporarily inserting
• Testing on the real animal

Fake rhino horn testing at IRNAS, Slovenia

Based on the information obtained from scientific literature as well as input from field experts, IRNAS has produced a fake rhino horn consisting of horse hair and epoxy in a 5 tonne press, resulting in a hard and compact unit which is assumed to be similar to the actual horn. The similarity is validated by Peace Parks testing.

With the results of the fake horn, antenna tuning has been performed for BLE, LoRa and GPS antenna inside RhinoPuck. The results have been shown to be promising, achieving good antenna efficiency. The following tuning results indicate the antenna performance.

The performance of both uBlox and LR1110 GPS reception have been conducted to validate the GPS reception, which has shown to be very good and comparable with both GPS receivers.

A 5 day test has been conducted with RhinoPuck unit inside the fake rhino horn at a very agressive interval of 1 minute LR1110 fix and 15min uBlox fix. Both position systems worked well, providing accurate positions within 25m range over the 5 day period.

As a result of successful test, the next batch of units has been produced with minimal variations in antenna tuning, such that multiple versions can be tested by Peace Parks to determine the most optimal one.

GPS antenna nominal frequency is 1575 MHz and multiple options were prepared as well with 5 MHz offset. These units are then used by Peace Parks to determine the optimal tuning option.

Temporary testing in fresh and removed rhino horn at Peace Parks, South Africa

The testing by Peace Parks in fresh rhino horn that has been removed from an animal is conducted to validate the tuning and installation method in real-world conditions. Tests are conducted in the following steps, following the main installation instructions with some modifications.

• Configure the RhinoPuck tracker with the following settings

  • LR position interval: 1 minute

  • uBlox position interval: 15 minute

Result evaluation

The test process above is repeated with 5 different trackers: 0 MHz, +10 MHz, +5 MHz, -5 MHz and -10 MHz. Results of each tracker are then evaluated after the test has been conducted.

Parameters to observe:

• Successful GPS fix with uBlox and LR

• Number of satellites found for uBlox and LR

• C/N0 parameter for uBlox and LR

Subject to these results, correct tuning parameters can be determined for the setup and new units produced in larger volume.