Grant: Engage Grants Program

Biotelemetry is the use of electronics to monitor, record, and measure the physiological functions of a living organism. Characteristic of biotelemetry devices is their small size and use of novel technologies and materials to measure and transmit data remotely, automatically, and directly from the species of interest. Lotek Wireless, Inc. was founded in 1984 and is a leading designer and manufacturer of wildlife monitoring systems that use a variety of biotelemetry technologies, such as radio, acoustic, archival and Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite monitoring solutions that can be attached safely to birds, freshwater fish, terrestrial and small mammals, amphibians, reptiles, invertebrates, and marine fish, invertebrates, mammals and turtles. The proposed short-term research focuses on the testing and selection of materials used in Lotek's devices currently-under-development and on performance and optimization testing of Lotek's next-generation devices. The research focuses on four main topics of Materials Properties and Selection under Marine and other Harsh Conditions, specifically related to Lotek's novel biotelemetry products: (1) Mechanical shear testing of adhesives, (2) Corrosion testing of alloy materials used as electrical contacts, (3) Time-evolved solar and thermal degradation testing of polymer coatings, and (4) Strain testing of composite materials under external hydrostatic pressure. These areas of initial research between the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science (FEAS) at Memorial University of Newfoundland (MUN) and Lotek Wireless, Inc. have been identified as most important in developing complementary competencies that the participants share and is in line with the growth that St. John's and Newfoundland has experienced in the past few years as a hotspot of technology-based innovation and ground-breaking collaborative research. The work proposed will positively impact the design of Lotek's next generation of devices for its global customers and continue to establish the university and the company as excellent representatives of Canadian expertise in creating novel engineering applications to understand the environment and manage the world's natural resources.