V0.1 - Draft of instructions
Open Collar RhinoPuck product developed by Smart Parks and IRNAS is a round implantable disk for use with side-mount method in larger rhino horns. This innovative shape of the tracker allows for use of a round drill along with the epoxy material for installation and as such represents a quick method for tracker installation.
OpenCollar Edge firmware with advanced tracking features
Compatible with SmartParks Connect Bluetooth Android for device configurations
868MHz LoRaWAN connectivity for long range data transmission
OTAA activation with any network
Keys configurable through BLE
Precise GPS positioning with uBlox M8
Precise low-power GPS positioning with LR1110
Large battery capacity with 2x Saft LS17330
Robust potted enclosure for installation into 50mm diameter hole
RhinoPuck tracker unit
Android smartphone with Smart Parks Connect application
Vettec Adhereâ„¢ 210cc Adhesive Color: Black Item No: 47150
Vettec Mixing Tip Item No: 46900
Vettec Diamond dispensing gun Item No: 748-0002-074
Battery powered drill
50mm diameter drill bit for hardwood or similar
Chizzle for hardwood
Prepare for deployment: Test connection between Android app and the RhinoPuck unit
Drill the 50mm hole from the side of the horn about 10cm from the base
Fix the hole outer wall such that the 48mm puck can be inserted easily
Insert RhinoPuck, such that the point up arrow points to the sky when rhino is in normal position
Use the Vettec glue around the outer edge
Fill the hole completely with Vettec. Note you should not stop the dosing process, because it becomes hard very quickly. Note get quite hot.
Configure the RhinoPuck via the BLE app to the
Testing with PeaceParks
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.
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
Goal: Validate performance of best version by permanently installing
Testing on the real animal
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.
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
Drill the hole in the horn
Install the tracker with the correct side up
Plug the hole with the dummy unit filled with Vettec
Place outdoors for 1 hour duration
Remove and repeat for next unit
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.
A set or RhinoPuck units with a range of tuning values has been produced for testing by PeaceParks in the actual rhino horn. The devices were tested in various configuration to acquire as much information as possible on the impact of the actual horn on the RF performance and establish design parameters.
A set of 4 different tests has been established to evaluate various impacts of placement and positioning on the RF performance.
RhinoPuck positionied with sticker (antenna) side inwards to the horn and plugged with a dummy Vettec puck
RhinoPuck positioned with sticker (antenna) side inwards to the horn and no dummy
RhinoPuck positionied with sticker (antenna) side outwards to the horn and plugged with a dummy Vettec puck
RhinoPuck positionied with sticker (antenna) side outwards to the horn and no dummy
The testing conducted over a period of 2 days has shown several key results:
GPS antenna is operating sufficiently well for Ublox GPS, but based on lab results a better performance should be possible which is required for LR1110 GPS
High-power Ublox GPS is working and can provide a reliable GPS fix
Low-power LR1110 GPS is not working due too low GPS satellite signal strength
Rhino horn impact on antenna is significant, thus the antenna tuning must be very well matched to the actual horn.
Best overall performance was observed for sp3a0b5c tracker tuned at 1575MHz with Sticker out + dummy configuration (note however sp0ced81 was expected to have similar performance but it did not), up to 5 LR1110 satellites were observed
Second best overall performance was observed for sp794c39 tracker tuned to 1570MHz with Sticker in + dummy configuration
Notably good performance was observed on Sticker in + no dummy configuration on trackers in 1575MHz, 1580MHz and 1585MHz, however no Dummy is not a realistic solution as the trackers can not be deployed that way.
Based on the best results, the C/N0 metric for Ublox has not exceeded 34, however based on lab results at least 37 should be achieved with better tuning and then LR1110 performance is expected