Terms of Use
Document History
This documentation receives frequent updates, which are described here.
Introduction
Song Meter® with Analysis and Remote Transfer, or SMART™, is a multi-channel, ultrasonic audio recording and analysis platform from Wildlife Acoustics®.
Getting Started
The first time you use a SMART System, we recommend setting it up in an accessible location, such as an office. This will make it easier to configure the SMART and perform any necessary troubleshooting.
Microphone Settings and Schedules
Each microphone connected to a SMART Controller can have its own Setting Profile and Schedule Profile. These profiles determine when the microphone is active; the settings it uses to detect, record, and analyze bat echolocations; and set the scheduling of microphone sensitivity testing and moisture clearing.
SMART Controller Configuration
Before you deploy the SMART System, you should configure basic system and network settings. These include login credentials, date, location, and network configuration settings.
Data Management
The SMART System stores recordings and logs on its internal drive initially, and it can periodically transfer new data to a USB or networked storage drive.
Installing SMART
Installing the SMART System on a wind turbine, meteorological tower, or similar structure requires careful planning. Proper connectivity, grounding, and microphone placement will help ensure a successful deployment.
Bat Activity Alarms and Control System Integration
The SMART System can integrate with a windfarm SCADA network or similar control system to perform acoustically triggered curtailment (ATC). You can define custom alarms that detect bat activity based on custom-defined parameters. When these alarms trigger, you can send control signals to other devices on a control system to trigger turbine shutdowns.
- Alarms
  As the SMART System is recording and analyzing, it can trigger alarms when the characteristics of the bat call meet certain parameters. Raised alarms can be sent to a control system in order to shut down or slow a turbine.
  - Alarm Logic Overview
    Each pair of alarms consists of Pass Settings, Pulse Settings, and Alarm Criteria. Together, these settings define the conditions required to raise a given alarm.
  - Alarm Strategy
    The general goal when designing alarms is to count bat pulses or passes near a turbine without counting non-bat noises, such as the mechanical noise of the turbine itself.
  - Design, Test, and Implement Alarms
    Kaleidoscope Pro Sound Analysis Software allows you to test SMART Alarms on batches of recordings to see how the alarms would have processed the recordings in real time. This functionality is vital for tailoring your alarms to a particular turbine before implementing acoustically triggered curtailment (ATC).
    - Record Sample Data for Alarm Design
      In order to design effective alarms for acoustically triggered curtailment (ATC) on a particular turbine, you should collect sample recordings from that same turbine. The characteristics of the turbine machinery, local weather, and where microphones are placed on the turbine will affect what kinds of noise your microphones records.
    - Review Sample Data for Bat and Noise Characteristics
      To design effective alarms, you need to look for patterns in the types of bat calls and types of non-bat noise that any particular microphone is recording.
    - Simulate Alarms in Kaleidoscope Pro
      With sample recordings collected from your SMART System, you can run alarms in Kaleidoscope Pro Sound Analysis Software to simulate how those alarms would have responded to the audio in real time.
    - Review Alarm Simulation Results
      After you have run a SMART alarm simulation in Kaleidoscope Pro, you should review the file smartalarm.csv together with your vetted bat identification results. Known bat activity should raise your alarms, while non-bat noises should be ignored.
    - Implement Alarms on a SMART System
      Once you have designed and tested alarms in Kaleidoscope Pro, you can implement them on a SMART System via the SMART Control Panel.
  - Alarm Criteria Syntax
    Alarm Criteria can include many different arithmetic and logical operations on pulse- and pass-level criteria as well as on the prefix assigned to each microphone.
- Control System Integration
  The SMART System provides several means through which other devices can retrieve information about detected bat activity in real time. This information can be used to inform automatic wind turbine curtailment or similar control decisions.
Troubleshooting
Specifications
SMART Enclosure
The SMART Enclosure is a preconfigured, weatherproof enclosure that can be purchased with the SMART System.
SMART API and Command Reference
The SMART System software includes utilities, command-line scripts, and APIs that can be used for additional customized programming of the SMART System.
Glossary
Warranty
Except as specifically provided herein, Wildlife Acoustics makes no warranty of any kind, express or implied, with respect to this product.
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Prohibition Against Eavesdropping
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Contact Information

Simulate Alarms in Kaleidoscope Pro

With sample recordings collected from your SMART System, you can run alarms in Kaleidoscope Pro Sound Analysis Software to simulate how those alarms would have responded to the audio in real time.

Before you begin

You should have collected sample data from the turbine where you want to implement acoustically triggered curtailment (ATC), and you should have analyzed the data for patterns in call parameters that can distinguish bat calls from other noises.

Procedure

Open Kaleidoscope Pro and configure your Batch settings.
1. Select Bat Analysis Mode.
2. Set your Input directory to the directory containing your sample data.
3. Enable ZC files for input, assuming your sample data is in ZC format.
4. Set your Output Directory to a blank directory separate from the Input Directory.
5. Disable WAV (or W4V) files and ZC files for output.
Go to SMART and enable alarm simulation.
Configure one or more alarms.
- To create a pulse-level alarm, select an unused alarm and configure Alarm Criteria and Pulse Alarm settings.
- To create a pass-level alarm, select an unused alarm and configure Alarm Criteria and Pass Alarm settings.
Ideally, each bat call should cause at least one alarm to register as true, while non-bat noise should cause all alarms to register as false.
Select Process Files.

Results

Your output directory will now contain a file named smartalarm.csv, which records when each of your alarms would have raised and cleared in response to the incoming audio.