Construction of a prototype for tracking dogs in the streets using Arduino

Resumo

One of the motives that compromises the welfare of dogs is a lack of understanding of their needs and of the natural behavior of the species. The use of telemetry as a means of indirect observation is emergent and has provided a significant increase in scientific perspectives. However, its use is still limited for domestic animals despite the high potential for applying the technology in this area. Thus, the objective of this project was to construct a prototype using telemetry via satellite, of reduced size and low cost that allows for the monitoring of dogs in the streets. The prototype of the tracker was constructed containing a Pro Mini Arduino with an ATmega328 micro-controller, a GPS module for the Arduino, GPS u-blox NEO-6M and a Micro Sd reading/taping module for the Arduino. The final weight of the prototype was 197.4±101.5 grams with the battery and is attached to the collar. The dispersion of the planimetric coordinates around the mean was 2.7 meters, which increased to 10.9 meters when the height factor was added to the dispersion. It was concluded that with the size and weight of the prototype used it was possible to evaluate medium to large-sized dogs in the street. The prototype showed the precision necessary to read the coordinates collected for projects aimed at monitoring dogs in the streets, since these do not demand millimetric precision and accuracy.