Pitot tube based waterflow sensor for biologging of marine animals

Abstract

This study presents a waterflow sensor for marine biologging. Biologging methods have been used in many marine animal research. However, it has been difficult to directly long-time measure the waterflow velocity against swimming animals. Here, we propose a waterflow sensor based on pitot tube principle, which is specially designed to measure the swimming speed of marine animals. Thin films are adhered to the inlets to prevent an invasion of air bubbles when marine animals breathe. In addition, incompressible fluid is filled in the sensor inside to realize pressure resistance. The fabricated sensor responded linearly to pressure without the mechanical influence of the film. The proposed sensor will be utilized for the biologging of marine animals.