Browsing by Author "Wotherspoon, Jonathan Bruce"

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Design of a multi-hop ad-hoc outdoor wireless sensor network
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2019-04) Wotherspoon, Jonathan Bruce; Niesler, T. R.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Engineering. Dept. of Electrical and Electronic Engineering.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Currently the inability to monitor rhino and other endangered animal species in real time is hindering the e ort to reduce poaching. This thesis proposes a multi-hop adhoc wireless sensor network (WSN) to deliver behavioural and positional data from an on-animal tag to a database in real-time. After practical testing, a LoRa capable radio frequency module operating at a frequency of 433 MHz was chosen. Each WSN node is power-aware and sustains its battery with energy harvested from solar radiation. A multi-hop ad-hoc routing protocol routes communication from an on-animal tag to the nearest server node. WSN nodes can detect breaks in a communication route and can request an alternative route on demand. During practical testing over a 45 km route with 3 WSN nodes, an on-animal tag mounted at rhino ear-height and ankle-height was able to successfully communicate 92.5% and 64.6% of messages respectively. A server node received 96% of communication from an on-animal tag, routed through 2 WSN nodes which were spread over 14 km. The report concludes by detailing improvements and future work to the research project before it could be commercially viable.