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Development of a Power Based Angle of Arrival Localisation System for Tracking of Bees Utilising a Miniature Vibration Energy Ha Bangor University DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Development of a power based angle of arrival system for tracking of bee utlilising a miniature vibration energy harvester for a battery-less transmitter Shearwood, Jake Award date: 2020 Awarding institution: Bangor University Link to publication General rights Copyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the public portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. • Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the public portal for the purpose of private study or research. • You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain • You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the public portal ? Take down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. Download date: 23. Sep. 2021 Bangor University DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Development of a power based angle of arrival system for tracking of bee utlilising a miniature vibration energy harvester for a battery-less transmitter Shearwood, Jake Award date: 2020 Link to publication General rights Copyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the public portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. • Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the public portal for the purpose of private study or research. • You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain • You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the public portal ? Take down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. Download date: 17. Nov. 2020 DEVELOPMENT OF A POWER BASED ANGLE OF ARRIVAL SYSTEM FOR TRACKING OF BEES UTILISING A MINIATURE VIBRATION ENERGY HARVESTER FOR A BATTERY-LESS TRANSMITTER Jake Shearwood School of Electronic Engineering Bangor University A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy March 2020 "According to the laws of aerodynamics, the bumblebee can’t fly either, but the Bumblebee doesn’t know anything about the laws of aerodynamics, so it goes ahead and flies anyway." - Igor Sikorsk Abstract iv ABSTRACT The thesis presents the adaption of radio telemetry technology to allow for the tracking of the world’s most economically beneficial insect, the honeybee. Currently no technology is available to efficiently enable the long-term evaluation of navigation loss of bees exposed to potentially harmful pesticides such as neonicotinoids. The research aims at developing a self-sustained radio tracking device which can be attached to insects as small as the honeybee. The research presented within the thesis acts as a proof of principle for long range autonomous tracking of bees using a modified radio telemetry. To allow for compatibility of radio telemetry tags with smaller tags were designed and fabricated which implements a micro-generator that harvests electrical energy from the bee’s body vibrations which powers radio-wave transmission from a miniaturized antenna attached to the bees’ thorax. The use of lead zirconate titanate (PZT) allowed for sufficient power generation to replace the battery, whilst an increased operation frequency in comparison to current state of the art allowed for sufficient antenna size reduction. Both factors contributed to a significant weight reduction allowing for compatibility with honeybees. The successful transmission of the self- powered radio telemetry tags is shown whilst outlining the effects of the battery replacement and increased frequency on the link budget of the system. A review of localisation systems for radio telemetry systems was performed in which alternative methods were investigated to allow for autonomous localisation of the radio telemetry tag with a single receiver. A compact phased array antenna affords angle of arrival (AOA) estimation and bee localisation through a received signal strength indicator approach (RSSI). The phased array antenna is capable of scanning +/-50° in azimuth and elevation. Additionally, a reflection type phase shifter capable of a 360° phase shift was designed and fabricated. Initial tests of the system were conducted in controlled environments and highlighted the system’s ability to detect and determine the AoA of a tagged bee within a 20m range. Further tests demonstrated the systems unobtrusive nature when monitoring the foraging times of tagged bees whilst recording their initial flight trajectories. Commercial applications of the system are shown in which the system is mounted within a polytunnel to monitor plant visitations and pollinator services on strawberry plants. To overcome the 20m detection range and achieve long range tracking of tagged bees the receiver unit was integrated to a drone in which the AOA estimate is Abstract v autonomously fed into the control system of a drone, allowing for continuous position updates. The drone interprets the estimate in which a bearing is calculated before the drone autonomously moves towards the position of the AoA estimate. The experimental results show proof of concept towards autonomous tracking of tagged bees. Acknowledgments vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Firstly, I would like to thank my academic supervisory team of Dr. Cristiano Palego and Dr. Paul Cross for providing me with this opportunity. I am thankful all the support and guidance they have provided me throughout the project. Without their continued support this thesis would not have been possible. I would like to thank BIBBA and KESS II for the funding of this PhD. Additional thanks also go to S&A produce and their group technical director Edward Palmer. His continued support in identifying commercial applications, whilst providing guidance and resources has been invaluable to the project. I would like to thank my colleagues at Bangor University who have provided endless support throughout this journey. Dr James Monks, Dr Shaun Preston and William Taplin for their continuous support and help in maintaining a healthy work/life balance throughout the entire project. Helder Anizelli, who provided countless entertainment and distractions from work and was a great friend during his time visiting from Brazil. Additionally, I would like to thank Dr Noel Bristow and Dr Bing Yan for their academic support. Noel, James, Tudur and Aeron for always being available for tea breaks to unwind and discuss new ideas. I am grateful to the continued support of the academics and my friends within my research group. Nawaf Aldabashi who has not only been a close friend but a tremendous help in supporting experiments conducted within the field. For his valuable time and experienced help, I am truly grateful. Sam Williams for his continued support and guidance and continued assistance with field testing. Dr Amira Eltokhy for her support on several issues and Dr Nissar Karim. I would like to thank my family. It is difficult to explain the process of a PhD to someone who has never experienced it, however, I am grateful for their endless support. My parents Mark and Barbara Shearwood whose love and support has been vital for me being where I am today. My brother and the rest of my family for their reassurance and support throughout the project. Additionally, my close friends who have allowed me to relax and have fun after stressful weeks of research. Finally, a very special thank you to my Jessica Lauren Foster who has put up with me and provided love and support every step of the way throughout my PhD. She has Acknowledgments vii continuously made me smile throughout this journey and has helped me maintain a healthy work-life balance. Contents ix PUBLICATIONS J. Shearwood, D. Man Yuen Hung, P. Cross and C. Palego, "Energy harvesting powered devices for Honeybee health monitoring", in International Microwave Workshop Series on Advanced Materials and Processes, Pavia, 2017. J. Shearwood, D. Hung, S. Preston, P. Cross and C. Palego, "Honeybee Localization Using an Energy Harvesting Device and Power Based Angle of Arrival Estimation", in IMS 2018, Philadelphia, 2018. J. Shearwood, S. Williams, N. Aldabashi, P. Cross, B.M. Freitas, C. Zhang and C. Palego, “Localization and Tracking Bees Using a Battery-less Transmitter and an Autonomous Ariel Vehicle”, in IMS 2020, Los Angeles, 2020. Contents x CONTENTS Declaration and Consent ............................................................................................................ i Abstract ......................................................................................................................................... iv Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................... vi Publications .............................................................................................................................. viii Contents ........................................................................................................................................ ix Chapter 1. Introduction........................................................................................................
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