Scientists develop “backpack” computers to track wild animals in hard-to-reach habitats
Summary
With new technology described today (April 2) in PLOS Biology, researchers are able to track tiny animals that divide their time between flying around in the sky and huddling together in caves and hollow trees – by attaching little backpacks to them with glue. These high-tech backpacks, which can communicate with each other and ground-based receivers, provided data for the popular study published on Halloween in 2019 showing that vampire bats developed social bonds in captivity that they maintained in the wild. The wireless network developed by a team of engineers, computer scientists and biologists contains functions similar to what we find in our smartphones – such as motion detection and Bluetooth-style connectivity – at a fraction of the weight and energy consumption. “Using backpacks on bats saves weight and it also makes sure the sensors fall off easily,” said Simon Ripperger, lead author of the paper and a postdoctoral scholar in evolution, ecology and organismal biology at The Ohio State University. “These are really two different approaches to studying animal behavior.” There is a definite novelty to learning about how vampire bats interact, but the research also has shown remarkable similarities between their social behavior and certain aspects of human relationships.