We show the feasibility of using Erasure Codes (ECs) for reliable communication in strongly energy-constrained sensor network applications. In particular, we aim at observing group dynamics of bats in their natural habitat. Bats are to be equipped with ultra-light sensor nodes to continuously monitor contacts between each other and to track their flights. This data needs to be uploaded to a stationary ground network whenever a bat comes into communication range. As the quality of this

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... ion link is fluctuating, reliability improvement techniques need to be implemented. ECs allow to enhance the reliability of data transmissions with only a marginal overhead. After showing the improvements using ECs in simulation, we now implemented the full system using a prototype platform to study the general feasibility in a more realistic environment.