Exploring the Suitability of BLE Beacons to Track Poacher Vehicles in Harsh Jungle Terrains

TL;DR

This study investigates the feasibility of using Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacons for tracking poacher vehicles in remote jungle terrains where traditional communication infrastructure is unavailable, aiming to understand movement patterns rather than immediate detection.

Contribution

It introduces a novel BLE-based tracking prototype for jungle environments and evaluates its effectiveness and limitations in real-world conditions.

Findings

BLE beacons can detect vehicles within a limited range affected by obstructions

Signal strength varies with environmental obstacles, impacting tracking reliability

The system provides valuable movement data for anti-poaching strategies

Abstract

Our overall aim is focused on exploring whether we could use Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technology to track poacher vehicles in remote and rural areas such as Sabah, in Malaysia, especially deep inside the jungle terrain with little or no communication technologies exists. Tracking technologies are currently limited to relying on satellites or cellular towers, for environments that do not permit access to these signals, very few viable alternatives exist. This paper explores the use of BLE as a method to track vehicles. It works by mounting Bluetooth beacons beside a road and placing a receiver concealed somewhere inside the vehicle. As the vehicle drives past the beacon, the receiver and beacon are momentarily in range, the receiver then stores a unique ID from the beacon and when the vehicle is then in an area with GSM signal, an SMS is sent containing the unique IDs of the beacons that have been detected. This project is prototyped and tested in collaboration with the Danau Girang Field Centre in Sabah, Malaysia. The results offer insights for how effective BLE beacons are in a tracking situation for where the beacon and receiver are in range for a short period of time as well as how different obstructions will affect the range and strength of the signal. It is important to note that our objective is not to catch the poacher, instead to understand how they move around within jungle terrain, as we can use such information to develop a comprehensive plan against poaching activities.