| 研究実績の概要 |
This project has resulted in in-depth assessment of ICARUS, which relies on low-energy, broadband communication with the low-orbiting International Space Station (ISS). We evaluated this technology for animal tracking, as it allows for the development of very light (5 g), solar-powered biologging systems that can be equipped on small animals.
Due to delays in ICARUS deployment in space on the side of Roskosmos, I-GOS and the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, our work mostly consisted in testing the system's function through terrestrial receiving stations. We first performed attachment tests and preliminary technical assessments using GPS loggers deployed on the Ryukyu flying fox (Pteropus dasymallus), a threatened solitary fruit bat species of particular conservation concern for Japanese ecosystems. Also, we assessed ICARUS-compatible devices to prepare large scale deployments.
As this project was relying heavily on a cutting-edge space technology (ICARUS), which our team was the very first to partner with. Hence, the timespan of this project overlapped with the in-house testing of this technology. Moreover, as ICARUS roll out was delayed on several occasions due to technical issues (i.e. space launch failure, EVA postponement due to ISS activities, coordination problems between the space agencies), our project's timeframe was postponed. The foregoing issues, however, led us to work in parallel to ICARUS on the design of new low-energy telecommunication technologies (LORA, SIGFOX), which we are now turning into usable tracking systems jointly with our German partners.
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