electronic shepherd - a low-cost, low-bandwidth, wireless network system
This paper reports a new novel low-cost, wireless communication network system, called the "Electronic Shepherd" (ES). The system is innovative in the way that it supports flock behavior, meaning that a flock leader monitors the state of the other elements in the flock using low-cost radio communication equipment. The paper addresses both details of the terminal devices and communication protocols, as well as testing of the system in a real environment. The ES system was originally made to address special needs for sheep and reindeer farmers who were seeking a system to keep track of their animals during the grazing season. The system, including GPS receivers, UHF radio communication transceivers and GPRS modems, contributes a new approach for low-cost networking and service implementation, not only for the purpose of animal tracking, but also for other applications where objects are to be monitored at a low cost.
cost wireless network network systems paper wireless communication communication innovating behavior mean monitor addressing terminals device communication protocols test environments tracking animation gps gprs implementation animal tracking applications object cost-effective communication low-power equipment short-range communication rural computing bandwidth