Dulog Bio-Tracker, Powered by Silicon Labs' EFR32 SoCs, Proves Bats Can Socially Distance When Sick

Silicon Labs has highlighted a somewhat unusually-deployed wireless network, built using EFR32 "Wireless Gecko" systems-on-chips (SoCs) — attached to the backs of bats, as part of a study to see whether the flying mammals practice social distancing.

"I’ve been involved with this project since the end of 2013 and was inspired by my advisor, who is also a bat biologist," Ohio State University biologist Simon Ripperger explains in an interview with Silicon Labs. "He used to go to Greece for field work all the time, but their method of tracking and bio-logging bats was a bit unbelievable — he was essentially running behind bats, chasing them with an antenna."

"We knew there had to be a better way to do this, and the university had a long history of cooperation between computer scientists, engineers, and biologists. They decided to create a big, collaborative project on wireless sensor networks using a fully automated tracking system for bats."

The solution: An active tracking system based on Silicon Labs' EFR32 family. "Our tags have proximity logging and localization functions that operate at two different frequency levels," explains Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nuremberg engineer Niklas Duda. "Before using Silicon Labs, we had to use three separate ICs to accommodate these functions."

"However, the Silicon Labs Flex Gecko integrates transceivers for both frequencies and a microprocessor core in one component. The ability to scale from three components to one makes the PCB smaller and makes it easier to control the radios, resulting in overall improved performance. We also wanted the Silicon Labs Gecko solution for its ultra-low-power functions. When tagging animals, we need our solution to be as small, light, and low power as possible, and Silicon Labs solutions support this need."

The system has proven its worth in a range of studies across noctule and vampire bats, proving that social relationships developed during captivity persist when released into the wild — and that, much like the recommendations surrounding the current pandemic, sick bats appear to voluntarily practice social distancing until they're better.

The full interview is available on the Silicon Labs website, while Ripperger and Duda have launched a company to release a commercialized version of their EFR32-based bio-logging system.