Smart Habitat: A Wildlife Rehabilitation System

K. Cassie Kresnye, Patrick C. Shih

Abstract: Wildlife rehabilitation centers are tasked with the difficult challenge of providing medical care to wildlife while limiting human contact to ensure a successful transition into the wild. Building off of interviews with volunteers and 6 months of participatory observation work, we present a smart habitat design for the rehabilitation of Virginian opossum joeys. Using maker technology, we crafted a prototype utilizing sensors, a microcontroller, and an android application. We then discuss the future direction for this project including improvements and a field deploy.