In this paper we introduce a novel engineering system for tracking animal movements. Study of animal movement has implications in several relevant and challenging research areas, i.e., from ornithology to global ecology and wildlife management. Inspired by the Internet-of-things vision, the proposed tracking system relies on GSM-based tracking devices that are directly connected to the GSM network to remotely transmit/exchange data with Application Servers/Cloud. The novel characteristic of the proposed GSM-based tracking system is the use of the GSM network for both localization and transmission. This allows to simplify the design of both hardware and software, hence reducing, size, weight and cost of the GSM-based tracking device as well as the fieldwork effort necessary to obtain tracking data. Moreover, this joint localization/transmission phase allows to reduce the energy consumption of the GSM-based tracking device, hence prolonging the life-time of the system and increasing the Quality-of-Service of the envisaged tracking application. We performed a detailed energy assessment of the GSM-based tracking device, while the whole GSM-based tracking system has been tested in a real deployment on four greater flamingos (Phoenicopterus roseus) for approximately 11 months in Northern Italy.

This paper describes the technical excellence of the Sardinia Radio Telescope (SRT) design, development status, and the scientific plans foreseen by the Italian Space Agency (ASI) for deep space tracking, radio science, and related scientific opportunities such as near-Earth objects (NEO) and space debris monitoring. SRT, when functioning as a ground tracking station, will eventually provide operational support to spacecraft at four frequencies simultaneously: X-band uplink and downlink as well as Ka-band uplink and downlink. In order to pursue all of its space science objectives, ASI is also considering an agreement with the Italian National Institute for Astrophysics to share a quota of the observing time of the other smaller Italian radio telescopes at Medicina and Noto, where many successful experiments have been conducted with the Ulysses and Cassini missions as well as many other encounters and detections.