Axy-Trek. Operating manual

Transcription

1 Axy-Trek Micro GPS and Accelerometer datalogger with temperature and Pressure sensors and activity/inactivity logging for tracking free-moving animals Operating manual (Version 1.1, May 2016)

2 Axy-Trek operating manual p. 2

3 Axy-Trek operating manual p. 3 CONTENTS 1. SYSTEM DESCRIPTION GENERAL UNIT FUNCTIONING BATTERIES, WEIGHTS AND DIMENSIONS ANTENNAS SWITCHING ON/OFF THE LOGGER 5 2. SCHEDULE GPS WORKING MODES GPS TIME SCHEDULE GPS ACQUISITION SETTINGS DELAYED START MOVEMENT CONFIGURATION 8 3. DATALOGGING AND DATA FORMAT MOVEBANK COMPATIBILITY HOW TO COMMUNICATE WITH AXY-TREK AXY MANAGER LAUNCHING THE SOFTWARE DOWNLOADING AND CONVERTING DATA ERASING THE MEMORY 13 6 PROGRAMMING THE SCHEDULE SETTING TIME INTERVALS AND WORKING MODES SETTING START DELAY AND ACQUISITION OPTIONS SALT WATER SWITCH BATTERY THRESHOLDS GSV THRESHOLDS LOADING THE SCHEDULE TO THE UNIT OPENING AND SAVING SCHEDULES RE-CHARGING THE BATTERIES 16

4 Axy-Trek operating manual p SYSTEM DESCRIPTION Axy-Trek is a complete datalogger which includes a GPS, an accelerometer and both temperature and pressure sensors, especially designed for tracking seabirds but that can be used also to track terrestrial animals (Fig. 1.1), providing new and interesting information about animals movements and behaviour. Data related to acceleration, pressure, temperature, position (longitude, latitude, and altitude), speed, date, and time (millisec) are computed and recorded in any place of the Earth, providing that Axy-Trek is operated in an outdoor environment. Due to its high sensitivity it performs well not only under clear view of the sky, but also under moderate coverage such as wooded or urban areas. Axy-Trek communicates with pc by mean of a USB cable provided by Technosmart Europe srl. Fig. 1.1: Axy-Trek rendering 1.1 General unit functioning Once switched on, the logger remains for 30 seconds awaiting for connection when the logger is blinking (see 1.4). After these seconds, whatever schedule has been set, the accelerometer starts recording data, at the frequency configured by the user until the logger is switched off. If the pressure and the temperature sensors are included, these will start recording at the same time, at the frequency set by the user. The GPS, on the other hand will start only according to the schedule and to the activity of the logger. The Axy-Trek has both a water and an activity switch. The water switch, if present and enabled, deactivates the GPS when the switch detects water. This is ideal for penguins or other diving animals that spend most of their time underwater. The activity switch is managed by the accelerometer and can be enabled by schedule. If the animal is inactive at the time of the scheduled fix, the GPS will record a last position and then go to sleep. If the animal remains inactive (levels and times can be configured by the user) at the scheduled fix time the GPS will not try to take the fix, saving battery. If the animals has started to move, the GPS will take the fix as scheduled. If before the scheduled fix the animal started to move and then stopped again, the GPS will anyway take the last fix.

5 Axy-Trek operating manual p. 5 This opportunity, for the first time on TechnoSmArt dataloggers allows to save a lot of energy in cases of species active only for a few hours a day. For example the GPS will not track if the animal is resting. However, if the animal is a sit-and-wait predator, this configuration allows anyway the logger to record all positions because after the inactivity the GPS will always record one last position before going to sleep. 1.2 Batteries, weights and dimensions Axy-Trek can be mounted on rechargeable batteries of different sizes depending on weight and size requirements of the end-user. There are two main sizes, according to the different batteries. The Large Axy-Trek is 41x25x16mm, and can hold batteries between 400 and 600mAh, while the Small Axy-Trek is 36x23x12mm and can hold batteries between 150 and 300mAh. If used on land birds or mammals, the Axy-Trek can be also prepared as a harness or collar, with any kind of battery. In this case, it is possible to remove the pressure and temperature sensors, if not needed by the customer. 1.3 Antennas Axy-Trek can be equipped either with a patch ceramic antenna, as default, or with a whip antenna for terrestrial animalse. 1.4 Switching on/off the logger In order to turn ON the unit, move the magnet included in the parcel over the magnetic switch near the pressure sensor. A white light indicator (LED) will start blinking once per second for 30 seconds and then switch off. After this period the unit is still working but the LED is no longer flashing. Note: You can connect to the unit only in these first 30 seconds. To switch off the unit you need to first hold the magnet close to the switch. The led will be on for 1 second. After this second you need to move away the magnet very quickly. Practically when the led is on you need to have the magnet close to the unit, when the led is off you need to keep it away. The switching off is signaled by a long blink followed by fast blinking of the led. Note: in the first 30 seconds of blinking the units will switch off after a single passage of the magnete. 2. SCHEDULE Axy-Trek is fully programmable by mean of dedicated software (Axy-Manager2). Parameters such as time interval between positions, sleep periods, accelerometer frequency and other features can be set by the user and modified at any time, providing the module is connected to a pc. There are two schedule windows, one for the GPS (Position configurations button) and another one for all other sensors (Movement configuration). See Figure 2.1.

6 Axy-Trek operating manual p. 6 Fig. 2.1: The Axy-Manager2 main window. 2.1 GPS Working modes There are six working modes characterized by different power consumption, accuracy, and recording intervals. Specifically: 1) CONTINUOUS: this mode provides the most accurate locations; positions are recorded at 1 fix/sec. However, this is also the most power-draining mode: consumption is about 20 ma. 2) OFF: when the module is turned-off it enters into a sleep condition in which its consumption is dramatically reduced to near zero (27 µa). No positions are stored; however, the unit is ready to enter into another mode, following the schedule programmed. 3) Short periods: this mode is suitable for intervals between 1 fix/sec and 1 fix/5 seconds. Positions are computed in a shorter time than in continuous mode, allowing energy to be saved but causing lower accuracy. Battery consumption is not constant, and depends on satellite visibility. In areas with lower satellite visibility these modes might switch to continuous mode automatically and thus increase consumption. Fix rate is not constant, as if the gps needs to go to continuous because of bad reception, the data will be saved at 1Hz frequency. If set to 1 fix/sec (200 mms ON) the module will store data like in continuous mode but power consumption and precision are lower (9 ma).

7 Axy-Trek operating manual p. 7 4) Long periods: this mode allows for intervals ranging between 10 seconds and 20 minutes between fixes when low power consumption is required. The module remains in a sleep condition (OFF) until a programmed acquisition occurs. The acquisition usually requires between 1 to 10 seconds according to time interval and satellite visibility and power consumption is 4-14 ma depending on the interval between fixes. 5) Very long periods: this mode is similar to the previous one but has longer intervals, ranging between 30 min and 12 h and is ideal for applications requiring very low power consumption. 6) MultiFix: this mode has been especially designed for applications that require very accurate positions. It takes 5, 10 or 15 fixes instead of 1 and by this increases considerably the accuracy of the fix. While taking 1 fix every 10 minutes provides an accuracy of around 30 meters, for example, collecting 15 fixes every 10 minutes and averaging the last 5 fixes of the bout can provide an accuracy of only 2m in ideal conditions. This mode has a higher power consumption compared to the single fix relatives. 7) Subsecond: this mode allows for high frequency recording of GPS position. You can record from 2 to 5 times per second (10Hz not implemented yet). This mode has high accuracy but also high power consumption, similar to the continuous mode. 2.2 GPS Time schedule Axy-Trek GPS side can be programmed to switch between different working modes during the day, at defined hours and for adjustable recording periods. There are five recording periods available during the day. For example, it is possible to set the unit to collect data in continuous from 00:00 to 10:00, to stay OFF till noon, then to store 1 fix/ h from 12:00 to 18:00, and to enter OFF again from 18:00 to 24:00. Important: the GPS works in GMT 0 time, not local time, so check your time zone before setting the schedule! Moreover, it is possible to program the unit also on a weekly basis, to perform a different task on specific days of the week and to repeat the task the week after. If only a daily schedule is desired, is it possible to set the unit to execute only one schedule, the same for every day (see 6.1). 2.3 GPS Acquisition settings Axy-Trek is switched-on by passing a magnet close to it, as already mentioned. Soon after the led will blink with short pulses once a second, indicating that the unit is ready to connect to the Axy Manager2. The Axy-Trek can be only connected in these first 30 seconds. After you connect, however, you can take you time to work with the unit, as the timeout is 60

8 Axy-Trek operating manual p. 8 seconds, and is refreshed by any action (send-read schedule, set name, erase memory and so on). After these first 30 seconds, the GPS will start to search for satellites (ON Time Acquisition). This acquisition phase has been set, as default, to be no longer than 300 sec (5 min). In general, only 50 sec are needed for acquiring the signal and computing a first position. If a fix is not obtained within the Acquisition ON Time, the GPS module ends the search for satellites and enters a very low power state, the OFF Time Acquisition, which lasts by default 1800 sec (30 min), before trying again the acquisition of the signal. ON Time and OFF Time Acquisition are both configurable by the user (see 6.2). In some cases, if signal is low or the sky is obstructed, the gps might recognize very quickly that it will not take a position and will go to sleep after 20 seconds, to save battery. Therefore, in case of no sky visibility the GPS will not consider the ON Time Acquisition but will go to sleep after 20 seconds. When a good position is finally computed, Axy-Trek starts the execution of the programmed schedule and will continue with it, unless the satellites signal is lost; on that case a new acquisition cycle is performed. Note 1: the accelerometer is anyway recording in this phase, even if no GPS fix has been recorded. Note 2: It is very important for animals dwelling in burrows or being underwater frequently (penguins, cormorants etc.) to set up a proper OFF Time Acquisition. A too short period will cause a high battery consumption because of repeated tries to obtain the fix. However, a too long off period will cause the GPS to go to sleep most of the time if the animal is frequently underground (or under water) producing very limited fixes. If you are in doubts, contact us for further infos! 2.4 Delayed start It is possible to delay the activation of the unit up to 18 hours (6500 sec) after having turned it ON. This time is referred to as the Start Delay, and is user-configurable. During this time the unit remains in a low power consumption mode (OFF mode, 27 µa). When you switch on the unit with a start delay, it will blink only once and then switch to off until the configured delay is reached. Only after this it will start to take the fixes and to blink for the initial acquisition. 2.5 Movement configuration The Movement configuration window will allow you to setup the configuration of the accelerometer, that of the sensors and to configure also the activity/inactivity pattern. Note: when you open this window, the values you see are the values found in the datalogger connected, not those used the last time, as it is for the position configuration. In this menu you can select the sample rate in Hz, the G range (in g) and the resolution of the data, being 8 or 10 bits.

9 Axy-Trek operating manual p. 9 Temperature and pressure sensors can be enabled or disabled, and it is possible to select the period between two following recordings (e.g. 1 means a fix per second, 5 means a fix every 5 seconds). In the last section, Movement Thresholds, it is possible to configure the activity/inactivity sensor. The acceleration magnitude means the level of activity. NOTE: If the Movement Thresholds is set to 0 the logger is always active. Usually an animal has activity magnitude between 0.06 and 0.1g, corresponding to the values 4-6 at 2g range. NOTE: that changing the G range of the accelerometers changes also the activity sensor values. The activity sensor is not immediate but has a latency, measured in milliseconds. It tells how long the animal needs to be inactive in order to switch to the inactive mode. 3. DATALOGGING AND DATA FORMAT Axy-Trek has an on-board memory of 1Gb which allows to store up to 40 millions data. Data can be downloaded using the Axy-Manager2 and saved in four main formats: -binary (.ard), -text (.csv), -text for gps (.txt) -kml for gps (.kml) Binary is the more compressed format containing all GPS data. Data in Binary format are not to be viewed or edited with other softwares, as it is a proprietary format, but is very useful for store data on computers given its reduced size. Binary files can be converted with the Axy-Manager2 into one of the other formats according to the parameters selected in the converting option panel (see 3.1). Text files.csv are tab delimited files, suitable for editing the data with Excel, Word, and importing in common softwares. Text files have also several options asked during the conversion, regarding the format of date and pressure (mbar or meters of depth). The checkbox Date and Time on the same column allows you to have one single column with data and time, rather than two separated columns. This format is preferred for analyses with GIS softwares. Specifically, from left to right the columns indicate: 15/10/ :38: Inactive ) date (dd/mm/yyyy) 2) time (hh:mm:ss) 3) x axis 4) y axis

10 Axy-Trek operating manual p. 10 5) z axis 6) activity or inactivity 7) pressure 8) temperature 9) Latitude (degree + minutes --decimal) 10) Longitude (degree + minutes --decimal) 11) Altitude (meters above Mean Sea Level) 12) Ground speed (km/h) 13) Number of satellites 14) HDOP (Horizontal Dilution of Precision, a value which describes the geometric strength of satellite configuration on GPS accuracy; lower values indicate higher accuracy). 15) GSV Value: the value of satellite reception power, the highest the value the best was satellite reception. 16) Battery level Fig. 3.1: The Axy-Manager2 utility converting option panel Text files.txt are tab delimited files, and are generated only if the checkbox is checked during the conversion. This txt file includes only GPS data, nothing else. KML is the format that can be directly viewed and edited by Google Earth. Fixes are shown as single points on the map (markers) or connected with a line to show the trajectory, depending on the option chosen in the converting option window (see 5.2). They are colored from red to blue, according with increasing speed, and bear information about altitude and time.

11 Axy-Trek operating manual p Movebank Compatibility As all Technosmart Europe dataloggers, Axy-trek files can be imported to Movebank. You can import either the csv file or the txt file. Consider that the csv file is usually very large and therefore its importation can be very time consuming. To create the files compatible to Movebank, please press the button Movebank Compatibility in the converting window (See Fig. 3.1 on top of the window). 4. HOW TO COMMUNICATE WITH Axy-Trek Axy-Trek communicates with a pc by mean of an USB cable and dedicated software, the Axy-Manager2. The USB cable is a USB to serial converter and in the last versions is completely plug&play, although it might be necessary for you to have your computer connected to internet for installing it properly. If you encounter any problem in this, do not hesitate to contact us. The cable should be inserted with its leds facing the GPS. 5. AXY MANAGER 2 The Axy-Manager2 can be used for -1 downloading the data and erasing the memory, -2 converting the recorded data from binary to the other formats, -3 programming the recording schedule of the module, -4 configuring several features such as unit name, start delay, etc., The Axy-Manager2 can be downloaded from the section support of To install the software on your pc launch the installer. 5.1 Launching the software Before launching the software, plug the USB-Data cable to your PC and check into device manager which COM port has been associated to it. Go to Start->Programs->Technosmart- Europe>Axy-Manager2 utility and launch Axy-Manager2. The main window will look as in Fig 5.1:

12 Axy-Trek operating manual p. 12 Fig. 5.1: The Axy-Manager2 main window Once the software is running, choose the COM Port number associated to the USB Data Cable in the PORT LIST box. If the correct number is not listed, please disconnect and connect the data cable again, then press the Refresh ports list button. Connect a GPS unit to the data cable, turn-on the unit, then press the Connect button. As soon as the unit is connected, its name will appear in the Unit Name box, as well as the unit firmware version. By default, new units come with the name No Name, but this can be easily changed by typing the new name into the Unit Name box (low right on the window, 10 character maximum) and pressing the Set button (or pressing Enter). When operations are finished, disconnect the GPS unit by pressing the Disconnect button, and then a new unit can be connected to the cable. When handling several units, pressing Connect and Disconnect several times can be annoying; therefore, it is possible to connect the first unit, to work with it and to detach it from the cable and to connect a new unit without pressing Disconnect: the software automatically will recognize that a new unit has been connected. If you do not switch off the unit it will start to execute the schedule just like if you switched it on normally. If you disconnect a unit with magnetic switch, on the other side, you will automatically switch it off.

13 Axy-Trek operating manual p Downloading and converting data To download logged data from a connected unit, press the Download button: a new window will appear, asking where data should be saved on your pc. A file name can be typed in; however, a unit name is suggested too. Once downloaded, data are saved on the PC as file name.ard. The.ard files can be converted in two formats. This can be done immediately after the downloading or later on. Converted data are saved in the same folder chosen for the.ard file. If immediate conversion is not required, it will be possible to do it later, when there will be no units connected. The Convert data button is always available and furthermore the open surface with the Technosmart symbol is a drag & drop surface that converts every ard dropped on it. Thus, to convert the data click the button, chose the file (or files) to be converted and press Save, or more easily, just drag & drop the file (or more files) to the surface of the main window to. Converted files will be saved in the same folder of the.ard file/s. 5.3 Erasing the memory Data in memory can be erased by clicking the Erase button. A confirmation box will appear before the beginning of the erasing process. The user will be noticed when the memory has been cleaned. The procedure is very fast, as data are not physically deleted until the unit begins to collect new data. Note: if memory is erroneously erased, data can still be retrieved; turn-off immediately the unit and contact support@technosmart.eu. 6 PROGRAMMING THE SCHEDULE As explained in chapter 2, the unit can be programmed to execute daily or weekly schedules. To access the programming options click the Position configuration button: the following window will show up

14 Axy-Trek operating manual p. 14 Fig. 6.1: The main Position configuration window 6.1 Setting time intervals and working modes You can select the Daily or the Weekly option by checking the appropriate button (by default, the weekly setting is proposed). If daily is selected, only the Day 1 table will be available, and will be called Every Day. Each day can be divided in up to five time periods by selecting the number of intervals in the appropriate box. The start and end time of each period can be assigned by scrolling the boxes with the 24 hours. Time increments are in steps of 1 h and periods are automatically set to be consecutive. A different Working mode (see 2.1) can be assigned to each of these periods and properties of the working modes can be assigned in the boxes appearing on the right side of the modes. Note that the GPS works at GMT 0 time, not local time! If the weekly schedule is selected, seven tables, one for each day, are proposed. To manage the settings of a particular day, select the table relative to that day and perform the changes. Settings can be copied on the following day to facilitate the programming. Remote download intervals can be set to be different from one day to the other in the Weekly schedule.

15 Axy-Trek operating manual p Setting Start Delay and Acquisition options By clicking the tab Settings, it is possible to set the start delay and to change the Acquisition options (Fig 6.2). Figure 6.2 shows the GPS configuration window when Settings tab is selected: Fig. 6.2: The Settings table of the Position configuration window If a start delay is needed, the desired time delay (in seconds) can be entered. By default, there is no start delay set. The maximum delay is seconds, equivalent to something more than 18 hours. As for the Acquisition options, desired values can be entered into the Acquisition box. By default, the logger is programmed to search for satellites for 5 minutes and, if fix is not computed, to remain in a sleep mode (OFF) for 30 min before trying again (see 2.4). You can change these settings as you wish, making the GPS sleeping longer or shorter. Consider however that the Acquisition on time must be higher than 60 seconds, otherwise the gps will never get a fix. The Debug Mode is something useful if the logger had some problems in the past. So you might be asked by us to activate this mode if you report some problem with the unit, so that we can more easily understand the problem and possibly fix it. If this mode is activated by mistake it s not a big issue, but the txt reported is more complicated and difficult to use Salt Water Switch If requested a Salt Water Switch can be mounted on the Axy-Trek. They consist in two small pins, coming out of the casing on the rear side. When the unit is in water the logger disables the GPS which will not take any position until the two pins are out of the water.

16 Axy-Trek operating manual p. 16 This is mostly useful for species that spend most of their time under the water, where the GPS has no reception. The Accelerometer and the temperature/pressure sensor will continue to record anyway. VERY IMPORTANT NOTE: if we didn t include the water switch to your loggers, you will still find the option in the schedule window. In this case, if you check the water sensor option, the GPS will be inactivated! So CHECK this option only if you do have a water switch otherwise you will end up with no gps position! 6.3 Battery thresholds The device operates until a low battery threshold is reached. This value is called General low battery. Below this value the GPS will switch off. The General low battery value should be 3.2V unless you have solar powered instruments! 6.4 GSV Thresholds The Axy-Trek uses a particular characteristics of GPS satellites, called GSV, in order to reduce power consumption in cases of animals that are often in dens or burrows. However, if the animals live in a relatively covered place, such as a forest, the default values might be too high and the GPS might not get the fix. Thus if the animals you are studying is living in a relatively open environment leave the values as by default. If however you find that with the default values your gps are too often in sleep or lose too often satellite reception lower the 4 values of GSV. Try first to lower the satellite number to 2 and the other three values to 60, 30 and 60 respectively. If you are unsure, contact us and we are happy to help you! 6.5 Loading the schedule to the unit Once the schedule has been completed, by clicking the Send settings button, it can be sent to the GPS unit. If the new settings are correctly acquired a confirmation message will appear. It is possible to retrieve the settings loaded into the module by pressing the Read settings button: these will be shown in the Schedule window. Please note that only if a Axy-Trek unit is connected, the Read settings and Send settings buttons will be available. 6.6 Opening and saving schedules If no unit is connected to the software, the Schedule window remains available. It is possible to create a schedule and save it to the disk, as well as to open a previously-saved schedule. Open schedule and Save schedule are located in the File menu of the Schedule window. 7. RE-CHARGING THE BATTERIES Batteries can be recharged either using a AC Charger or with a USB cable. The AC Charger can only recharge larger batteries, starting from 250mah, while smaller batteries should be recharged with the datacable. IMPORTANT: Only LiPo batteries can be recharged. If you use

17 Axy-Trek operating manual p. 17 a Thionyl battery (those rounded like a AA battery) with a recharging cable, even if only for communicating, the battery MIGHT EXPLODE, causing severe hazards!!!! BE VERY CAREFULL! If we gave you a cable that has a charger and you wish to use your GPS with thionyl batteries let us know and we will provide you a new not charging cable! Axy-Trek data-logger Operating Manual TECHNOSMART EUROPE s.r.l. Via Montenero 57/ Guidonia Montecelio, ITALY Phone: Fax: , VAT: Web: info@technosmart.eu