@article {53255, title = {Optimization of sensor deployment for acoustic detection and localization in terrestrial environments}, journal = {Remote Sensing in Ecology and Conservation}, year = {2018}, month = {Jun-10-2019}, abstract = {

The rapid evolution in miniaturization, power efficiency and affordability of acoustic sensors, combined with new innovations in smart capability, are vastly expanding opportunities in ground-level monitoring for wildlife conservation at a regional scale using massive sensor grids. Optimal placement of environmen- tal sensors and probabilistic localization of sources have previously been consid- ered only in theory, and not tested for terrestrial acoustic sensors. Conservation applications conventionally model detection as a function of distance. We developed probabilistic algorithms for near-optimal placement of sensors, and for localization of the sound source as a function of spatial variation in sound pressure. We employed a principled-GIS tool for mapping soundscapes to test the methods on a tropical-forest case study using gunshot sensors. On hilly ter- rain, near-optimal placement halved the required number of sensors compared to a square grid. A test deployment of acoustic devices matched the predicted success in detecting gunshots, and traced them to their local area. The methods are applicable to a broad range of target sounds. They require only an empirical estimate of sound-detection probability in response to noise level, and a sound- scape simulated from a topographic habitat map. These methods allow conser- vation biologists to plan cost-effective deployments for measuring target sounds, and to evaluate the impacts of sub-optimal sensor placements imposed by access or cost constraints, or multipurpose uses.

}, keywords = {acoustic monitoring, acoustic sensors, AudioMoth, Biodiversity monitoring, ecosystem management, optimisation, Soundscape, submodularity}, doi = {10.1002/rse2.97}, url = {http://doi.wiley.com/10.1002/rse2.97}, author = {Pi{\~n}a-Covarrubias, Evelyn and Hill, Andrew P. and Prince, Peter and Snaddon, Jake L. and Rogers, Alex and Doncaster, C. Patrick}, editor = {Pettorelli, Nathalie and Guillard, Jean} }