Alato AR5 Acoustic Recorder
Current NZ frame-reference device for monitoring bats and birds, successor to DOC’s AR4 acoustic recorder.
Open source →
Early hardware concept
Three-dimensional sound maps for conservation
Aperi Field explores whether compact ultrasonic microphone arrays, GPS-linked logging, and AI-assisted analysis could help visualise bat population movement and possibly identify behavioural patterns in individual bats.
What this is
An early hardware and data concept for GPS-linked ultrasonic acoustic mapping, post-processed behavioural maps, and conservation monitoring around renewable-energy infrastructure.
What this is not
It is not a validated field instrument or a replacement for established recorders such as the AR5. Any individual-bat or behavioural inference would require validation against known populations and field data.
Hardware pathway
The current hardware concept builds from:
T5838 ×4 → PCMD3140 → ESP32-S3 → SD card
Renewable-energy context
Bat strike risk is one of the ecological concerns associated with wind-energy development. Better local acoustic monitoring could support site assessment, mitigation design, post-installation monitoring, and research into deterrent effectiveness.
Reference shelf
Selected public documents, research papers, project references, and technical sources informing this project room.
Current reference device / New Zealand context
DOC bat monitoring guidelines using automatic bat detectors
New Zealand monitoring guidance for bats using automatic bat detectors, including context around AR4/AR5 recorders.
Open source →DOC - Bats and windfarms in New Zealand
New Zealand context document for bat risks and wind-farm development.
Open source →Bat strikes, wind farms, and monitoring
Accounting for carcasses outside searched areas
Research on fatality estimation around wind-energy facilities, including methods for accounting for carcasses outside searched areas.
Open source →Automatic Bat Call Classification using Transformer Networks
Research on AI-assisted bat call classification, useful as a technical reference for acoustic post-processing and multi-species recordings.
Open source →Ultrasonic deterrents
Ultrasonic acoustic deterrents significantly reduce bat fatalities at wind turbines
Key southern Texas field study testing ultrasonic deterrents at an operational wind facility.
Open source →Tethys summary - ultrasonic deterrents and bat fatalities
Accessible technical summary of the Weaver et al. southern Texas deterrent study.
Open source →NREL/NLR - Ultrasonic deterrents to reduce bat mortality
Broader technical reference reviewing ultrasonic deterrents as a bat-mortality mitigation strategy.
Open source →PLOS ONE - ultrasonic deterrents and curtailment
Caveat source reporting mixed or negative results, useful for explaining why site-specific monitoring and behavioural mapping matter.
Open source →Machine-readable summary
This section provides compact page context for search systems, accessibility tools, and AI readers.
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"project_name": "Aperi Field",
"status": "early hardware concept",
"summary": "Aperi Field explores ultrasonic bat monitoring using MEMS microphone arrays, GPS-linked logging and post-processed three-dimensional sound maps for conservation monitoring and wind-energy impact assessment.",
"hardware_pathway": "T5838 ×4 → PCMD3140 → ESP32-S3 → SD card",
"reference_categories": [
"Current reference device / New Zealand context",
"Bat strikes, wind farms, and monitoring",
"Ultrasonic deterrents"
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