How tiny satellites are tracking marine wildlife | Jake Levenson | TEDxFoggyBottom

Ocean Conservation Challenges - Traditional methods of ocean protection are inadequate due to the dynamic nature of the ocean and its inhabitants [5][6][7] - Current animal tracking technology has limitations, including inaccuracy (up to 2 kilometers or 20 football fields) and size restrictions, preventing tracking of 68% of vertebrates [17][18] - Existing tracking systems can take up to 4 minutes to get a location fix, which is too slow for tracking marine animals [19] Space Technology Solutions - Small satellites offer a potential solution for widespread coverage needed for animal tracking due to their open standard, small size, and relatively low launch cost [9][10][11][12] - Crowdsourcing can help solve accuracy problems in animal tracking, leading to breakthroughs like "time of arrival" technology [15][16] - Time of arrival technology offers advantages over traditional GPS, including tiny, lightweight trackers, near-instant location fixes, and dramatically lower costs [22][23] Time of Arrival Technology Impact - Time of arrival technology can reduce spatial inaccuracy from 2 kilometers to just a couple of meters [24] - Smaller, lightweight tags enabled by time of arrival have implications for public safety, such as tracking life jackets [25] - Time of arrival can change how the industry understands animal movement around the world [26]