Smart Computing and Sensing Technologies for Animal Welfare: A Systematic Review

Animals play a profoundly important and intricate role in our lives today. Dogs have been human companions for thousands of years, but they now work closely with us to assist the disabled, and in combat and search and rescue situations. Farm animals are a critical part of the global food supply chain, and there is increasing consumer interest in organically fed and humanely raised livestock, and how it impacts our health and environmental footprint. Wild animals are threatened with extinction by human induced factors, and shrinking and compromised habitat. This review sets the goal to systematically survey the existing literature in smart computing and sensing technologies for domestic, farm and wild animal welfare. We use the notion of \emph{animal welfare} in broad terms, to review the technologies for assessing whether animals are healthy, free of pain and suffering, and also positively stimulated in their environment. Also the notion of \emph{smart computing and sensing} is used in broad terms, to refer to computing and sensing systems that are not isolated but interconnected with communication networks, and capable of remote data collection, processing, exchange and analysis. We review smart technologies for domestic animals, indoor and outdoor animal farming, as well as animals in the wild and zoos. The findings of this review are expected to motivate future research and contribute to data, information and communication management as well as policy for animal welfare

Indigenous participation in monitoring megafauna within the Reef 2050 Integrated Monitoring and Reporting Program: final report of the Indigenous participation team in the megafauna expert group

[Extract] This report summarises a desktop review and analysis of Indigenous participation in monitoring megafauna in the coastal waters of the Great Barrier Reef (the Reef), and contributes to the development of design recommendations that satisfy the objectives of the Reef 2050 Integrated Monitoring and Reporting Program (RIMReP). The review commences with an overview of Traditional Owner groups in the Reef that have strong cultural connections to megafauna, particularly sea turtles and dugongs, and highlights their aspiration to participate in RIMReP comprising an inseparable component of the Reef 2050 Long-Term Sustainability Plan (Reef 2050 Plan). About 20 per cent (9/44) of Traditional Owner groups in the Reef were identified as participating in megafauna monitoring activities, mostly through ranger programs. However, apart from detailed reports of dolphin and dugong boat surveys undertaken by James Cook University (JCU) in partnership with five north Queensland Traditional Owner groups, representing 11 per cent of Traditional Owner groups in the Reef, we found no other documentation. Hence, our assessment should be treated with caution given the limitations of using information collated only from a desktop review. Nevertheless, the apparent absence of broad participation in megafauna monitoring activities provides an opportunity to implement a coordinated and standardised approach throughout the Reef from the outset as reflected in our recommendations

SheepIT, an E-Shepherd System for Weed Control in Vineyards: Experimental Results and Lessons Learned

Weed control in vineyards demands regular interventions that currently consist of the use of machinery, such as plows and brush-cutters, and the application of herbicides. These methods have several drawbacks, including cost, chemical pollution, and the emission of greenhouse gases. The use of animals to weed vineyards, usually ovines, is an ancestral, environmentally friendly, and sustainable practice that was abandoned because of the scarcity and cost of shepherds, which were essential for preventing animals from damaging the vines and grapes. The SheepIT project was developed to automate the role of human shepherds, by monitoring and conditioning the behaviour of grazing animals. Additionally, the data collected in real-time can be used for improving the efficiency of the whole process, e.g., by detecting abnormal situations such as health conditions or attacks and manage the weeding areas. This paper presents a comprehensive set of field-test results, obtained with the SheepIT infrastructure, addressing several dimensions, from the animals’ well-being and their impact on the cultures, to technical aspects, such as system autonomy. The results show that the core objectives of the project have been attained and that it is feasible to use this system, at an industrial scale, in vineyards.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Smart virtual fence for small ruminants

O aparecimento de espécies vegetais indesejadas em propriedades agrícolas, mais em específico em propriedades vinícolas, é um problema comum nos dias de hoje. A remoção destas é normalmente feita com recurso a máquinas agrícolas ou herbicidas, o que não só cria problemas ambientais relacionados com a queima de combustíveis fósseis, com a poluição dos aquíferos, e com a erosão dos solos, mas também problemas relacionados com a saúde humana. Uma alternativa mais ecológica é o uso de gado para a remoção deste tipo de espécies vegetais. O projeto SheepIT tem como objetivo desenvolver uma solução de controlo de pastagem de gado caprino para remoção de espécies vegetais invasoras em vinhas. Para isso foi desenvolvida uma coleira com sensores e atuadores capaz de monitorizar e controlar o comportamento dos animais. Estas comunicam com nós fixos (faróis) e enviam para estes informações periodicamente que são encaminhadas para um nó consumidor (gateway). Aqui é feito um processamento da informação recebida, a qual é posteriormente enviada para uma plataforma computacional onde também é tratada e disponibilizada ao utilizador. No âmbito desta dissertação foi desenvolvido um sistema de localização que determina a posição relativa de cada coleira em relação aos faróis. A localização absoluta destes é determinada por GPS, permitindo assim obter, de forma indirecta, a localização absoluta das coleiras. Para melhorar esta localização foram desenvolvidos mecanismos para aumentar a precisão e exactidão das distâncias estimadas que são usadas na trilateração, através de fusão sensorial. Para avaliar estes mecanismos foram comparados os resultados de localização obtidos por estes mecanismos com os resultados de um módulo GPS, tendo sido obtidos erros de localização abaixo de 18m.The appearance of unwanted plant species on agricultural properties, more specifically on wine estates, is a common problem today. The removal of these is usually done using agricultural machines or herbicides, which can raise environmental issues. A more ecologic alternative is the use of cattle to remove this type of plant species. The SheepIT project aims to develop a goat grazing control solution for the removal of invasive plant species in vineyards. For this purpose, a collar was developed with sensors and actuators capable of monitoring and controlling the animals’ behavior. These communicate with the fixed nodes (beacons) and send this information periodically until it reaches the final node (gateway). Here the information received is processed and then sent to a computer platform where it is further processed and made available to the user. Within the scope of this dissertation, it was developed a location system that determines the relative position of each collar with respect to the beacons. The absolute location of the beacons is determined by GPS, thus allwoing to obtain, indirectly, the absolute position of the collars. To improve the location, mechanisms have been developed to improve the accuracy of the estimated distances that are used in trilateration through sensory fusion. To assess the improvemets obtained with this technique, the obtained results were compared with the ones obtained with a GPS module. The obtained localization errors are below 18m, in realistic scenarios.Mestrado em Engenharia Eletrónica e Telecomunicaçõe

Controlo de postura animal

Mestrado em Engenharia Eletrónica e TelecomunicaçõesA remoção de espécies vegetais indesejadas nas culturas é um processo oneroso, que precisa ser repetido durante um ano de cultivo. Tipicamente é feito através da utilização de métodos mecânicos e de herbicidas, que tornam o processo dispendioso e agressivo para a própria cultura e para o meio ambiente. Este projeto pretende utilizar animais como método alternativo de remoção de plantas infestantes nas culturas, tornando o processo menos agressivo e menos dispendioso aliando ainda o ganho em área de pasto para as explorações pecuárias No entanto surge o problema de os animais não se limitarem a ingerir as espécies vegetais indesejadas e alimentarem-se também das próprias espécies cultivadas. O objetivo, é por isso, criar um mecanismo capaz de monitorizar e controlar a postura do animal para impedir que este se alimente das espécies cultivadas. Para esse efeito foi desenvolvido um protótipo de uma coleira, que integra um microcontrolador como unidade central de processamento, um módulo de rádio para transmissão de dados, ultrassons e acelerómetro para monitorização da postura do animal e os atuadores do sistema, no caso um buzzer e um módulo para aplicar choques elétricos.The removal of unwanted plant species in crops is an onerous process that needs to be repeated several times during the year. Typically, this process is done using mechanical methods and herbicides which makes it expensive and aggressive not only for the environment, but also for the cultivated plants. This project intends to use animals as an alternative method of removing weeds in crops, making the process less aggressive and less expensive. This method also leads to gains in pasture area for livestock farms. However, animals do not limit themselves to ingest undesired plant species and they also feed on the cultivated species. Therefore, the goal is to create a mechanism capable of monitoring and controlling the posture of the animal to prevent it from feeding on the cultivated species. For this purpose, was developed a prototype that includes: a microprocessor as a central processing unit; a radio module for data transmission; an ultrasound and an accelerometer for monitoring animal posture and system actuators; and a Buzzer and a module for applying electric shocks

Tecnologias IoT para pastoreio e controlo de postura animal

The unwanted and adverse weeds that are constantly growing in vineyards, force wine producers to repeatedly remove them through the use of mechanical and chemical methods. These methods include machinery such as plows and brushcutters, and chemicals as herbicides to remove and prevent the growth of weeds both in the inter-row and under-vine areas. Nonetheless, such methods are considered very aggressive for vines, and, in the second case, harmful for the public health, since chemicals may remain in the environment and hence contaminate water lines. Moreover, such processes have to be repeated over the year, making it extremely expensive and toilsome. Using animals, usually ovines, is an ancient practice used around the world. Animals, grazing in vineyards, feed from the unwanted weeds and fertilize the soil, in an inexpensive, ecological and sustainable way. However, sheep may be dangerous to vines since they tend to feed on grapes and on the lower branches of the vines, which causes enormous production losses. To overcome that issue, sheep were traditionally used to weed vineyards only before the beginning of the growth cycle of grapevines, thus still requiring the use of mechanical and/or chemical methods during the remainder of the production cycle. To mitigate the problems above, a new technological solution was investigated under the scope of the SheepIT project and developed in the scope of this thesis. The system monitors sheep during grazing periods on vineyards and implements a posture control mechanism to instruct them to feed only from the undesired weeds. This mechanism is based on an IoT architecture, being designed to be compact and energy efficient, allowing it to be carried by sheep while attaining an autonomy of weeks. In this context, the thesis herein sustained states that it is possible to design an IoT-based system capable of monitoring and conditioning sheep’s posture, enabling a safe weeding process in vineyards. Moreover, we support such thesis in three main pillars that match the main contributions of this work and that are duly explored and validated, namely: the IoT architecture design and required communications, a posture control mechanism and the support for a low-cost and low-power localization mechanism. The system architecture is validated mainly in simulation context while the posture control mechanism is validated both in simulations and field experiments. Furthermore, we demonstrate the feasibility of the system and the contribution of this work towards the first commercial version of the system.O constante crescimento de ervas infestantes obriga os produtores a manter um processo contínuo de remoção das mesmas com recurso a mecanismos mecânicos e/ou químicos. Entre os mais populares, destacam-se o uso de arados e roçadores no primeiro grupo, e o uso de herbicidas no segundo grupo. No entanto, estes mecanismos são considerados agressivos para as videiras, assim como no segundo caso perigosos para a saúde pública, visto que os químicos podem permanecer no ambiente, contaminando frutos e linhas de água. Adicionalmente, estes processos são caros e exigem mão de obra que escasseia nos dias de hoje, agravado pela necessidade destes processos necessitarem de serem repetidos mais do que uma vez ao longo do ano. O uso de animais, particularmente ovelhas, para controlar o crescimento de infestantes é uma prática ancestral usada em todo o mundo. As ovelhas, enquanto pastam, controlam o crescimento das ervas infestantes, ao mesmo tempo que fertilizam o solo de forma gratuita, ecológica e sustentável. Não obstante, este método foi sendo abandonado visto que os animais também se alimentam da rama, rebentos e frutos da videira, provocando naturais estragos e prejuízos produtivos. Para mitigar este problema, uma nova solução baseada em tecnologias de Internet das Coisas é proposta no âmbito do projeto SheepIT, cuja espinha dorsal foi construída no âmbito desta tese. O sistema monitoriza as ovelhas enquanto estas pastoreiam nas vinhas, e implementam um mecanismo de controlo de postura que condiciona o seu comportamento de forma a que se alimentem apenas das ervas infestantes. O sistema foi incorporado numa infraestrutura de Internet das Coisas com comunicações sem fios de baixo consumo para recolha de dados e que permite semanas de autonomia, mantendo os dispositivos com um tamanho adequado aos animais. Neste contexto, a tese suportada neste trabalho defende que é possível projetar uma sistema baseado em tecnologias de Internet das Coisas, capaz de monitorizar e condicionar a postura de ovelhas, permitindo que estas pastem em vinhas sem comprometer as videiras e as uvas. A tese é suportada em três pilares fundamentais que se refletem nos principais contributos do trabalho, particularmente: a arquitetura do sistema e respetivo sistema de comunicações; o mecanismo de controlo de postura; e o suporte para implementação de um sistema de localização de baixo custo e baixo consumo energético. A arquitetura é validada em contexto de simulação, e o mecanismo de controlo de postura em contexto de simulação e de experiências em campo. É também demonstrado o funcionamento do sistema e o contributo deste trabalho para a conceção da primeira versão comercial do sistema.Programa Doutoral em Informátic

Development of a pattern library and a decision support system for building applications in the domain of scientific workflows for e-Science

Karastoyanova et al. created eScienceSWaT (eScience SoftWare Engineering Technique), that targets at providing a user-friendly and systematic approach for creating applications for scientific experiments in the domain of e-Science. Even though eScienceSWaT is used, still many choices about the scientific experiment model, IT experiment model and infrastructure have to be made. Therefore, a collection of best practices for building scientific experiments is required. Additionally, these best practice need to be connected and organized. Finally, a Decision Support System (DSS) that is based on the best practices and enables decisions about the various choices for e-Science solutions, needs to be developed. Hence, various e-Science applications are examined in this thesis. Best practices are recognised by abstracting from the identified problem-solution pairs in the e-Science applications. Knowledge and best practices from natural science, computer science and software engineering are stored in patterns. Furthermore, relationship types among patterns are worked out. Afterwards, relationships among the patterns are defined and the patterns are organized in a pattern library. In addition, the concept for a DSS that provisions the patterns and its prototypical implementation are presented

OzTrack: e-infrastructure to support the management, analysis and sharing of animal tracking data

The aim of the OzTrack project is to provide common e-Science infrastructure to support the management, pre-processing, analysis and visualization of animal tracking data generated by researchers who are using telemetry devices to study animal behavior and ecology in Australia. This paper describes the technical challenges and design decisions associated with the development of the OzTrack system. It also describes the pre-processing, analysis and visualization services that we have developed to help researchers understand how their study species move across space and time. Finally this paper outlines the systems' current limitations and preliminary results and feedback from its evaluation to date