On the Use of Wireless Technologies for Wildlife Monitoring: Wireless Sensor Network Routing Protocols

Abstract

Traditional methods for wildlife monitoring are labor-intensive and time-consuming. Therefore, advanced technologies and remote monitoring methods are becoming increasingly popular. This paper presents a study on wireless technologies for wildlife monitoring. In the study, a review of the literature was done to identify the most commonly used wireless technologies. Various technologies were explored including unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), Internet of Things (IoT), wireless sensor networks (WSNs), artificial intelligence (AI), global positioning system (GPS), and very high frequency (VHF) radio. Then, a more detailed study was done on WSN technology. Investigations were done to observe the performance of routing protocols in WSNs. The use of source location privacy (SLP) routing protocols was considered for secure wildlife monitoring in areas such as game reserves. In such areas, sensor node energy consumption minimization and battery lifetime maximization are crucial. Hence, energy-efficient SLP protocols are more suitable for deployment. Using MATLAB simulation environment, performance analysis of various phantom- based SLP protocols was done to identify effective and energy-efficient SLP protocols. Simulation results show that two-level phantom with a backbone route protocol (TBP) and phantom with angle protocol (PAP) exhibit advantageous performance features in terms of SLP protection, energy efficiency, effective long-term SLP protection, and scalability. Thus, TBP and PAP are suitable for deployment in wildlife monitoring WSNs.