Continuous on‐board behaviour classification using accelerometry: A case study with a new GPS‐3G‐Bluetooth system in Pacific black ducks

1. Time and energy are key currencies in animal ecology, and judicious management of these is a primary focus for natural selection. At present, however, there are only two main methods for estimation of rate of energy expenditure in the field, heart rate and doubly labelled water, both of which have been used with success; but both also have their limitations. 2. The deployment of data loggers that measure acceleration is emerging as a powerful tool for quantifying the behaviour of free-living animals. Given that animal movement requires the use of energy, the accelerometry technique potentially has application in the quantification of rate of energy expenditure during activity. 3. In the present study, we test the hypothesis that acceleration can serve as a proxy for rate of energy expenditure in free-living animals. We measured rate of energy expenditure as rates of O2 consumption (VO2) and CO2 production (VCO2) in great cormorants (Phalacrocorax carbo) at rest and during pedestrian exercise. VO2 and VCO2 were then related to overall dynamic body acceleration (ODBA) measured with an externally attached three-axis accelerometer. 4. Both VO2 and VCO2 were significantly positively associated with ODBA in great cormorants. This suggests that accelerometric measurements of ODBA can be used to estimate VO2 and VCO2 and, with some additional assumptions regarding metabolic substrate use and the energy equivalence of O2 and CO2, that ODBA can be used to estimate the activity specific rate of energy expenditure of free-living cormorants. 5. To verify that the approach identifies expected trends in from situations with variable power requirements, we measured ODBA in free-living imperial cormorants (Phalacrocorax atriceps) during foraging trips. We compared ODBA during return and outward foraging flights, when birds are expected to be laden and not laden with captured fish, respectively. We also examined changes in ODBA during the descent phase of diving, when power requirements are predicted to decrease with depth due to changes in buoyancy associated with compression of plumage and respiratory air. 6. In free-living imperial cormorants, ODBA, and hence estimated VO2, was higher during the return flight of a foraging bout, and decreased with depth during the descent phase of a dive, supporting the use of accelerometry for the determination of activity-specific rate of energy expenditure.

Objectives Wearable devices are currently at the heart of just about every discussion related to the Internet of Things. The requirement for self-health monitoring and preventive medicine is increasing due to the projected dramatic increase in the number of elderly people until 2020. Developed technologies are truly able to reduce the overall costs for prevention and monitoring. This is possible by constantly monitoring health indicators in various areas, and in particular, wearable devices are considered to carry this task out. These wearable devices and mobile apps now have been integrated with telemedicine and telehealth efficiently, to structure the medical Internet of Things. This paper reviews wearable health care devices both in scientific papers and commercial efforts. Methods MIoT is demonstrated through a defined architecture design, including hardware and software dealing with wearable devices, sensors, smart phones, medical application, and medical station analyzers for further diagnosis and data storage. Results Wearables, with the help of improved technology have been developed greatly and are considered reliable tools for long-term health monitoring systems. These are applied in the observation of a large variety of health monitoring indicators in the environment, vital signs, and fitness. Conclusions Wearable devices are now used for a wide range of healthcare observation. One of the most important elements essential in data collection is the sensor. During recent years with improvement in semiconductor technology, sensors have made investigation of a full range of parameters closer to realization.