skip to main content
US FlagAn official website of the United States government
dot gov icon
Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
https lock icon
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( lock ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Explore Research Products in the PAR
It may take a few hours for recently added research products to appear in PAR search results.


Title: A Quantitative Evaluation of the Performance of the Low-Cost AudioMoth Acoustic Recording Unit
The AudioMoth is a popular autonomous recording unit (ARU) that is widely used to record vocalizing species in the field. Despite its growing use, there have been few quantitative tests on the performance of this recorder. Such information is needed to design effective field surveys and to appropriately analyze recordings made by this device. Here, we report the results of two tests designed to evaluate the performance characteristics of the AudioMoth recorder. First, we performed indoor and outdoor pink noise playback experiments to evaluate how different device settings, orientations, mounting conditions, and housing options affect frequency response patterns. We found little variation in acoustic performance between devices and relatively little effect of placing recorders in a plastic bag for weather protection. The AudioMoth has a mostly flat on-axis response with a boost above 3 kHz, with a generally omnidirectional response that suffers from attenuation behind the recorder, an effect that is accentuated when it is mounted on a tree. Second, we performed battery life tests under a variety of recording frequencies, gain settings, environmental temperatures, and battery types. We found that standard alkaline batteries last for an average of 189 h at room temperature using a 32 kHz sample rate, and that lithium batteries can last for twice as long at freezing temperatures compared to alkaline batteries. This information will aid researchers in both collecting and analyzing recordings generated by the AudioMoth recorder.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
1935507
PAR ID:
10478417
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ;
Publisher / Repository:
MDPI
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Sensors
Volume:
23
Issue:
11
ISSN:
1424-8220
Page Range / eLocation ID:
5254
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
More Like this
  1. ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; (, Environmental Data Initiative)
    During 2016 - 2023, during the bird breeding season, we collected 99,778 files of bioacoustic recordings in and near the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest in New Hampshire. Here, we provide a manifest of the sound files. Most files are one-hour recordings collected at 32 kHz and saved in FLAC format (~ 25 MB per file, ~ 13 TB total). Typical recording configuration was 05:00 - 08:00 and 17:30 - 20:30 local time. The full sound files have been saved in three respositories: two copies at Dartmouth College (Ayres lab) and one copy at the Macauley Library, Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology. The full sound files are available upon request. The file attributes within the manifest include date, start time, and recorder group: e.g., Main, 10ha, Oven, VW, AshBirch, and Ridge. Each recorder group had 5 - 20 recorders at plots separated by >100 m. Coordinates of each recorder are associated with plot names within metadata. The bird species expected to occur in these recordings are those from Holmes et al. (2021). These data were gathered as part of the Hubbard Brook Ecosystem Study (HBES). The HBES is a collaborative effort at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, which is operated and maintained by the USDA Forest Service, Northern Research Station. Holmes, R., S. Sillett, and M. Hallworth. 2021. Bird species recorded within the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest and vicinity (1963-2020; updated January 2021). ver 1. Environmental Data Initiative. https://doi.org/10.6073/pasta/da6cbb1ed8142d52a9d72762983742d8 (Accessed 2024-10-24). 
    more » « less
  2. ; ; (, Proceedings of the ACM on Interactive, Mobile, Wearable and Ubiquitous Technologies)
    null (Ed.)
    The ability to sense ambient temperature pervasively, albeit crucial for many applications, is not yet available, causing problems such as degraded indoor thermal comfort and unexpected/premature shutoffs of mobile devices. To enable pervasive sensing of ambient temperature, we propose use of mobile device batteries as thermometers based on (i) the fact that people always carry their battery-powered smart phones, and (ii) our empirical finding that the temperature of mobile devices' batteries is highly correlated with that of their operating environment. Specifically, we design and implement Batteries-as-Thermometers (BaT), a temperature sensing service based on the information of mobile device batteries, expanding the ability to sense the device's ambient temperature without requiring additional sensors or taking up the limited on-device space. We have evaluated BaT on 6 Android smartphones using 19 laboratory experiments and 36 real-life field-tests, showing an average of 1.25°C error in sensing the ambient temperature. 
    more » « less
  3. ; ; ; ; ; ; ; (, Advanced Energy Materials)
    Abstract Redox meditators (RMs) are soluble catalysts located in an electrolyte that can improve the energy efficiency (reduced overpotential) and cyclability of Li–oxygen (Li–O2) batteries. In this work, 20 RMs within a Li–O2system with dimethyl sulfoxide and tetraethylene glycol dimethyl ether electrolytes are studied and their electrochemical features such as redox potential, the separation of cathodic and anodic peaks, and their current intensities are measured using cyclic voltammetry (CV) experiments. Six RMs are selected as “primary” choices based on their electrochemical performance, and stability tests are then performed to examine their electrochemical responses after consecutive cycles. Moreover, galvanostatic cycling tests are performed within a Li–O2battery system assembled with selected six RMs for real case consistency investigations. It is found that results from CV to galvanostatic cycling tests are consistent for halides and organometallic RMs, where the former exhibit much higher stability. However, the organic RMs show high reversibility in CV but low in battery cycling results. Density functional theory calculations are carried out to gain more understanding of the stability and redox potentials of the RMs. This study provides comparative information to select the most reliable RMs for Li–O2batteries along with new fundamental understanding of their electrochemical activity and stability. 
    more » « less
  4. ; (, Waste Management)
    Each year, a significant number of single-use alkaline batteries with untapped energy are discarded. This study aims to analyze the usage patterns of alkaline batteries based on a dataset of 1021 used batteries, ranging from Size AA to 9V, collected from households in the State of New York. We measure the energy loss resulting from underutilized batteries and examine the corresponding environmental and economic impacts on a national scale. Discarded AA alkaline batteries maintain about 13 % of their initial energy, that results in an estimated annual energy loss of 660 MWh for all AA alkaline batteries in the U.S., and about 40 MWh in New York State. Annually in the U.S., consumers discard AA alkaline batteries with approximately $80 million worth of unused energy, including $4.8 million in New York State alone. We also show that the lifecycle impact of batteries should be multiplied by 1.25 to account for their underutilization. To address these issues, we propose actionable recommendations for improving battery consumption practices and facilitating End-of-Life/Use (EoL/U) recovery processes. The findings show the need for policy interventions to better manage battery usage and disposal toward reducing energy waste and mitigating environmental impacts. 
    more » « less
  5. ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; et al (, Advanced Materials)
    Abstract Lithium‐ion batteries are indispensable power sources for a wide range of modern electronic devices. However, battery lifespan remains a critical limitation, directly affecting the sustainability and user experience. Conventional battery failure analysis in controlled lab settings may not capture the complex interactions and environmental factors encountered in real‐world, in‐device operating conditions. This study analyzes the failure of commercial wireless earbud batteries as a model system within their intended usage context. Through multiscale and multimodal characterizations, the degradations from the material level to the device level are correlated, elucidating a failure pattern that is closely tied to the specific device configuration and operating conditions. The findings indicate that the ultimate failure mode is determined by the interplay of battery materials, cell structural design, and the in‐device microenvironment, such as temperature gradients and their fluctuations. This holistic, in‐device perspective on environmental influences provides critical insights for battery integration design, enhancing the reliability of modern electronics. 
    more » « less
  • Citation Formats
  • MLA
  • APA
  • Chicago
  • BibTeX
  • Save / Share this Record
  • Send to Email