PAN : By the numbers


6000 - 11,000 lbs: Weight of an Asian elephant


30lbs: Approx. weight of PAN hardware and harness.


40,000: Number of Asian Elephants in the wild.



Pachyderm Area Network (PAN) specs.


  1. -GPS

  2. -WebCam

  3. -Solar panel

  4. -Battery

  5. -Microphone

  6. -Sat Com Radio

  7. -Cellular Radio

  8. -Bio-chip

  9. -Micro-controller

  10. -RFID chip

 

    It’s not enough to track elephants and use the data to minimize contact with them.  We need to create new demand for their existence.  As the most dominant species on Earth it is up to us to find a positive use for elephants so that we can increase their chances of survival.  To do that we should start with what we already know about them. 


    For the most part only scientists are using the data being collected by systems like the ZebraNet.  The data is shared in a relatively diluted form to the public via museums and niche biology or science based websites. 


    We have the technology to not only share this data with more people but to add more mainstream features to it. We need to add some hardware to animal tracking systems to create a Pachyderm Area Network (PAN). With the PAN in place we then build some web-based software to access it and mash it up.

The Next Step

Pachyderm Area Network (PAN)

    The current generation Apple iPhone weighs less then 5 oz. (www.apple.com/iphone/specs) yet it contains a wireless radio, camera, microphone, microcontroller, and a battery big enough to provide eight hours of talk time. 


    We can add these components and a small solar panel to systems like ZebraNet without adding any significant weight or bulk. The PAN hardware would be optimized for the elephant’s rugged environment but still is so lightweight, relative to the elephant’s 6000 lb. body, that it would be practically unnoticed.


    These components could give us a window into the elephant’s world beyond just GPS data.  We could see and hear what the elephant sees and hears and in  near real time.  To further aid scientist, implanted biometric chips could record the elephant’s health statistics.  Tusk embedded RFID chips could help combat poaching.


    The next step is to take the PAN’s video, audio, biometric, GPS, and RFID data and share it with the world.



Michael Brashier | George Mason University | Published July 27th 2008

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