Tracking Asian hornets with low-power harmonic radars : applicative constraints and tag design

Details

Supervisors

Bol, David ; Lederer, Dimitri

Faculty

Ecole polytechnique de Louvain

Degree label

Master [120] : ingénieur civil électricien, à finalité spécialisée

Abstract

The Asian hornet, an invasive species originating from Southeast Asia, has re- cently become widespread in Southern Europe. Due to its rapid spread and the serious threat it poses to local honeybee colonies, various solutions and technologies are currently under investigation. This paper consolidates most of these approaches to provide a comprehensive overview of the available options. We evaluate the pros and cons of each method to determine the most suitable one for our application. We then outline a method for defining the system parameters and predicting its performance, specifically focusing on the detection range, which is determined to be 12 meters with an EIRP of 40 dBm. Next, we focus on improving performance by optimizing the tag. A model and methodology are described to achieve this goal, po- tentially extending the detection range to 18 meters. Finally, an antenna experiment is conducted to validate the simulation results. This work offers a general overview of the Asian hornet problem, describes potential technologies for controlling the spread of this species, and presents a real-time functioning tag design.