3,861 research outputs found
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
Animal location and distribution control for an improved management system
Dissertação de mestrado integrado em Engenharia Eletrónica Industrial e de ComputadoresThis dissertation addresses the problem of animal location management
and respective distribution control, with special interest on the virtual fence
solution based on GPS.
As it is known, animals tend to walk wherever they can find food and
safety. This can be a problem since they can interfere with other animals and
people in general. To prevent unpleasant encounters physical fences were developed,
but since they present high maintenance costs and some questionable
efficiency, a new technology was developed: virtual fences.
In addition, since cattle and sheep graze over large areas animals are often
rotated in order to achieve pasture management limitations. Virtual fences
help in this matter due to the ease of changing boundaries.
The main goal was to develop a virtual fence system where animal’s behaviour
can be managed. To achieve this purpose, were developed a collar
prototype (CP) with GPS location and GSM communication, a software application
and an energetic study.
The collar tests revealed good results from GPS localisation and GSM communication,
obtaining signal in open fields, house complex areas and inside
constructions with different ceiling types. The collar stimuli were applied as
expected, taking in consideration the collar localisation in the defined fence.
Also, the system efficiency was tested resulting in the expected attribution of
time periods accordingly the collar localisation area and stimulus applied. Furthermore,
the speed data achieved from the GPS revealed animal behaviour
important to deal with control management. The software application revealed
efficiency when designing the fence boundaries. The website was considered
user-friendly being easy to use, design the fence limits, register the
animals and monitor the cattle
Opportunities for Improving Livestock Production with e-Management Systems
There is increased interest in hardware and software that can support e-Management for grassland-based livestock industries. Managers of grazing livestock were early adopters of radio frequency identification (RFID) technologies automatically monitoring individual animal performance. Recent developments of remote sensing, automated individual recording and management, location based systems, improved data transfer and technologies that can be used in more extensive grazing systems are providing new opportunities for the development of e-Management systems. There is a need for better data integration and systems that can provide the best available information to enable better decision-making. For greater industry adoption of more integrated e-Management systems, there needs to be a clear economic value. With increased on farm monitoring and the expansion of digital data sources, grazing livestock production systems have the opportunity to expand production efficiency through the implementation of e-Management
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
Monitoring Animal Behaviour and Environmental Interactions Using Wireless Sensor Networks, GPS Collars and Satellite Remote Sensing
Remote monitoring of animal behaviour in the environment can assist in managing both the animal and its environmental impact. GPS collars which record animal locations with high temporal frequency allow researchers to monitor both animal behaviour and interactions with the environment. These ground-based sensors can be combined with remotely-sensed satellite images to understand animal-landscape interactions. The key to combining these technologies is communication methods such as wireless sensor networks (WSNs). We explore this concept using a case-study from an extensive cattle enterprise in northern Australia and demonstrate the potential for combining GPS collars and satellite images in a WSN to monitor behavioural preferences and social behaviour of cattle
SimpleTrack:Adaptive Trajectory Compression with Deterministic Projection Matrix for Mobile Sensor Networks
Some mobile sensor network applications require the sensor nodes to transfer
their trajectories to a data sink. This paper proposes an adaptive trajectory
(lossy) compression algorithm based on compressive sensing. The algorithm has
two innovative elements. First, we propose a method to compute a deterministic
projection matrix from a learnt dictionary. Second, we propose a method for the
mobile nodes to adaptively predict the number of projections needed based on
the speed of the mobile nodes. Extensive evaluation of the proposed algorithm
using 6 datasets shows that our proposed algorithm can achieve sub-metre
accuracy. In addition, our method of computing projection matrices outperforms
two existing methods. Finally, comparison of our algorithm against a
state-of-the-art trajectory compression algorithm show that our algorithm can
reduce the error by 10-60 cm for the same compression ratio
Livestock Monitoring: Approaches, Challenges and Opportunities
This survey presents approaches and technologies for livestock identification, vital signs monitoring and location tracking. It first introduces the related concepts. Then, provides an analysis of existing solutions and highlights their strengths and limitations. Finally, it presents key challenges in the field, and discusses recent trends that must be factored in by researchers, implementers, and manufacturers towards future developments in the area.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
ICROFS news 1/2012. Newsletter from ICROFS
International organic research theme: Organic Farming in Brazil:
Organic milk production in Brazil
Mokichi Okada Research Center - Agricultural research and development
Effect of alternative fertilization: Productive and qualitative per-formance in recovering degraded pastures in Brazil
CORE Organic:
Preventing disease and parasites in european organic pi
- …