University of Twente Student Theses
As of Friday, 8 August 2025, the current Student Theses repository is no longer available for thesis uploads. A new Student Theses repository will be available starting Friday, 15 August 2025.
Bat Presence Monitoring in Bat Boxes
Groenewegen, J.S. (2025) Bat Presence Monitoring in Bat Boxes.
|
PDF
23MB |
| Abstract: | Bats play an important role in our ecosystem. They are a protected species and efforts need to be made to preserve them. Luckily, this is happening through the placement of bat boxes. However, it is not always known if bat boxes are being used, when this is known, it can provide an insight into bat populations and the overall ecosystem health. Therefore, this graduation project used an iterative process to develop a bat presence monitoring device. A literature review was conducted to identify and evaluate existing bat monitoring methods. Experts were interviewed to determine design requirements. In combination with the background research, MoSCoW requirements were developed. Based on a decision matrix, the two most suitable sensors were picked. The RCWL-0516 microwave radar sensor and the MPR121 capacitive sensor. Using these two sensors, multiple prototypes were developed. The radar was shielded to reduce outside influence and direct the microwaves to the desired sensing area. In the case of the capacitive sensor strips of different lengths and materials were created. Moreover, the sensor sensitivity was tweaked. These prototypes were evaluated using rabbits. Eight different prototypes were each evaluated in two separate tests. The shielded RCWL-0516 scored the highest with an F1 score of 0.77, closely followed by the MPR121 capacitive sensor with a score of 0.72. Despite the radar sensor scoring higher, the capacitive sensor was picked for the development of the final system. This was due to the greater practicality and versatility the MPR121 offered over the RCWL-0516. When using the shielded radar, the entire bat box needs to be covered in reflective material. The capacitive sensor can be used on a variety of different entrances due to the flexibility with which the copper strips can be placed. Using the MPR121, an affordable functioning prototype was developed which uses low-powered electronics to passively detect bat presence in bat boxes. |
| Item Type: | Essay (Bachelor) |
| Faculty: | EEMCS: Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science |
| Subject: | 42 biology, 50 technical science in general, 53 electrotechnology |
| Programme: | Creative Technology BSc (50447) |
| Link to this item: | https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/107814 |
| Export this item as: | BibTeX EndNote HTML Citation Reference Manager |
Show download statistics for this publication
Show download statistics for this publicationRepository Staff Only: item control page