Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37196042›Full record

ArticlePloS one2023

A novel kinetic energy harvesting system for lifetime deployments of wildlife trackers.

Troels Gregersen, Timm A Wild, Linnea Worsøe Havmøller, Peter Rask Møller, Torben Anker Lenau, Martin Wikelski, Rasmus Worsøe Havmøller

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
2.2field-weighted citation impact, top 12% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed, 7 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 3 institutions in 3 countries.

Troels GregersenSection for Zoology, Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.ORCID 0000-0002-7446-986X
Timm A WildDepartment of Migration, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Radolfzell, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-2906-2892
Linnea Worsøe HavmøllerSection for Zoology, Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Peter Rask MøllerSection for Zoology, Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Torben Anker LenauSection for Engineering Design and Product Development, Department of Civil and Mechanical Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark.ORCID 0000-0002-9749-526X
Martin WikelskiDepartment of Migration, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Radolfzell, Germany.
Rasmus Worsøe HavmøllerSection for Zoology, Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.ORCID 0000-0002-7457-7326
University of Copenhagen · DKUniversity of Konstanz · DETechnical University of Denmark · DK

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Wildlife tracking devices are key in obtaining detailed insights on movement, animal migration, natal dispersal, home-ranges, resource use and group dynamics of free-roaming animals. Despite a wide use of such devices, tracking for entire lifetimes is still a considerable challenge for most animals, mainly due to technological limitations. Deploying battery powered wildlife tags on smaller animals is limited by the mass of the devices. Micro-sized devices with solar panels sometimes solve this challenge, however, nocturnal species or animals living under low light conditions render solar cells all but useless. For larger animals, where battery weight can be higher, battery longevity becomes the main challenge. Several studies have proposed solutions to these limitations, including harvesting thermal and kinetic energy on animals. However, these concepts are limited by size and weight. In this study, we used a small, lightweight kinetic energy harvesting unit as the power source for a custom wildlife tracking device to investigate its suitability for lifetime animal tracking. We integrated a Kinetron MSG32 microgenerator and a state-of-the-art lithium-ion capacitor (LIC) into a custom GPS-enabled tracking device that is capable of remotely transmitting data via the Sigfox 'Internet of Things' network. Prototypes were tested on domestic dog (n = 4), wild-roaming Exmoor pony (n = 1) and wisent (n = 1). One of the domestic dogs generated up to 10.04 joules of energy in a day, while the Exmoor pony and wisent generated on average 0.69 joules and 2.38 joules per day, respectively. Our results show a significant difference in energy generation between animal species and mounting method, but also highlight the potential for this technology to be a meaningful advancement in ecological research requiring lifetime tracking of animals. The design of the Kinefox is provided open source.

Indexed as

Animals, WildElectric Power SuppliesAnimalsDogsHorsesMovementSunlight

Identifiers

PMID37196042
PMCPMC10191315
OpenAlexW4376958543

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.