SK532020A3 - System and method for monitoring and directing the movement of livestock - Google Patents

Abstract

The system for remote monitoring and direction of livestock movement comprises at least one collar (A) for attachment to the neck of the animal, which contains an electronic identifier (1) for identifying the animal and is connected to a control module (2) which is connected to the transmitter / receiver module. (3), a vibration module (4), a sound module (5), a light module (6), an electrostatic and power supply module (7) connected to the accumulator (8); the control module (2) is connected to the sensors (10) for monitoring the animal via a connected bluetooth module (11) and the control module (2) is remotely electronically connected via a transmitter / receiver module (3) to an externally located control unit (9) for control of the control module (2) in the operating mode or the control module (2) is connected via a transmitter / receiver module (3) to a mobile transmitter (13), the control unit (9) being electronically connected to one or more external terminals (14) . The method for remote monitoring and directing the movement of livestock uses the present device.

Description

Field of technology

The technical solution relates to a system and method for remote monitoring and directing the movement of animals, in particular farm animals.

Prior art

At present, the problem of monitoring and directing the movement of livestock, mostly with the help of human labor, ie non-automated, is being solved.

E.g. the method of summoning cows in the robotic milking system is ensured by the physical intervention of the marmots - they must personally ensure that all cows can be milked.

If a cow cannot be milked, they must find it and bring it to the milking robot. The automation of the milking process is thus not complete, while the milking robot itself enables fully automatic operation. However, regular feeding of all cows from the herd is required. During robotic milking of dairy cows, we must teach new dairy cows included in the herd milked by the robot to milk milking on their own. The dairy cow needs to be introduced into the robot several times a day to impress. In the robotic device, the animal is impressed by the nuclear feed, which stimulates him to walk milking on his own. Some dairy cows start milking on their own after one or two visits to the robot.

However, it sometimes happens that a dairy cow that has been milking for a long time on its own suddenly stops walking for unknown reasons, even though it is at the peak of lactation and therefore has a high need for nuclear feed. If a dairy farmer introduces a dairy cow into a robot to be milked, it is a waste of time and at the same time it is necessary to have employees for this purpose. However, some animals refuse to go milking on their own. This phenomenon occurs in 2 to 5 percent of dairy cows in the herd.

In this case, it is necessary to bring the dairy cow into the robot at least twice a day. Due to the fact that the biggest advantage of robotic milking is that the cow cows independently without the presence of a human, such an incident disrupts the whole concept and essence of robotic milking.

The goal of robotic milking is completely, resp. eliminate human intervention in robotic milking as much as possible.

The so-called virtual enclosures (some also allow animal monitoring).

Cow monitoring devices are also known to ensure artificial insemination of animals, e.g. such a device is described in internationally published patent application WO 2006 / 077589A2 of 19.01. 2006 "A Method and Device for Detection Estrus" by SCR ENGINEERS, LTD.

An electronic method for monitoring the movement of dairy cows through a device placed on the animal's body is published in document GB 2540802 of 29.07. 2006 "A Cal Weaning Apparatus" by KL TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENTS LIMITED.

In practice, it is necessary to address the problem of monitoring livestock and directing their movement in a new available way that would lead animals to a certain type of behavior, e.g. would ensure that dairy cows go to milking separately.

The essence of the invention

The system for remote monitoring and directing the movement of livestock consists of at least one collar which is attached to the neck of the animal and which has an electronic identifier for identifying the animal connected to the control module. The control module is connected to the transmitter / receiver module, to the vibration module, the sound module, the light module, the electrostatic module and to the power supply module connected to the battery. The control module is connected via a bluetooth module to sensors for monitoring the animal (temperature, physical activity, chewing frequency, etc.).

The collar is remotely electronically connected via a control module via a transmitter / receiver module 3 to an externally located control unit. The control unit is electronically connected to one or more external terminals and ensures the automatic mode of operation of the device.

If necessary (eg when applying a virtual fence), a GPS module is also connected to the control unit, which monitors the position (GPS coordinates) of the animal.

Animal monitoring sensors may be located on the animal's body or may be implanted directly in the animal's body.

A mobile transmitter can be electronically connected to the control module via the transmitter / receiver module on the control module, which is used in the animal training mode.

The method for remote monitoring and directing the movement of livestock through the plant according to this technical solution comprises the following steps:

SK 53-2020 A3

- a collar with an electronic identifier is attached to the neck of the animal to identify a specific animal - sensors for monitoring the animal are placed on the animal's body and / or into the animal's body

- the control module is connected to the sensors via a bluetooth module

- the control module monitors and collects information about the movement of the animal and sends it via the transmitter / receiver module to the control unit or to the connected mobile transmitter

- in case of using the control unit, the control unit processes and evaluates the information for individual animals using the embedded software according to pre-set algorithms. Based on the data processing results, the program inserted in the control unit automatically sends instructions from the control unit via the transmitter / receiver module to the control module to activate the individual connected modules and / or sends information to one or more connected external terminals, for example in e-mail or statements. on the screen.

- in the animal training mode, a transmitter is used that directly sends instructions via the transmitter / receiver module to the control module.

Based on an instruction from the control unit or the transmitter, the control module activates the vibration module, and / or activates the sound module, and / or activates the light module and / or activates the electrostatic module.

The practical use of the system in the field of robotic milking is as follows: A collar for dairy cows uses a remote signal to force a dairy cow that has not milked for a long time to visit the milking robot. The signal can be sent by a person via the radio manually (when training a dairy cow), but a more efficient way is if the signal is sent by a control system connected to the robot on the impression.

The control unit evaluates the time since the last milking of the dairy cow and after exceeding a certain time period sends a signal to the collar of the respective dairy cow in order to arrive for milking.

It is usually necessary for the dairy cow to undergo a short training. If the breeder finds that a certain dairy cow has not visited the robot for a long time (for example, the mentioned 12 hours) he must look for the dairy cow in the herd and find out its health status. This is because the cow may be ill or have suffered an injury and are unable to get up or walk on their own (acute laminitis, mastitis or other illness). If the cow is able to get up and walk independently, we put on the collar of the cow, start the sound and vibration signal and introduce the cow into the robot to impress. On the second visit to the robot, together with the sound and vibration signal, we also trigger a short-term electrostatic signal (the lowest intensity) and lead the dairy cow to the robot to the impression where we turn off all signals. This must be done at least twice, and we will increase the intensity of the electrostatic signal at each subsequent visit. In the next step, when we think that the cow has understood what we are asking of her, we test whether after the sound and vibration signal is triggered, she gets up and goes to the robot on her own. If so, the training was sufficient and we can delegate the management of the milking call to the control unit, e.g. computer (on the computer we turn on automatic, we call for milking).

We can also use the system as a summoner to treat a dairy cow, when we treat the dairy cow for a long time. The collar can also be used to quickly search for dairy cows in the herd, we can ensure that the signal light on the neck of the dairy cow starts flashing and also you hear an audible signal.

It is possible to build other functions into the system, e.g. GPS module, dairy activity meter and so on. Most importantly, however, we consider the collar to have a built-in transmitter / receiver module that will allow two-way communication between the control unit and the animal. The dairy cow has built-in on the body (under the skin) or in the body (in the stomach, intestines, uterus, ...) various sensors that will communicate with the collar via bluetooth connection and the collar will transmit this data to the superior computer. It is already possible to record some bodily functions of the animal (intensity of chewing, physical activity, body temperature, heart rate, etc.). It can be assumed that such sensors will be added in the future, so we will have a more comprehensive overview of animal health.

There are currently around 40,000 robots working in the world, which means that around 2 million dairy cows are milked without human presence. This number is expected to increase many times over the years, so computerized monitoring of dairy cows' health will be essential. Despite the mentioned benefits of the system in the future, it can be stated that the very function of the milking caller could contribute to a more widespread expansion of the robot to impress, and thus alleviate the daily strenuous work of dairy farmers.

Those interested in the final product could be mainly farmers using milking robots, resp. all farmers who are interested in monitoring their cows, and the milking call function would be only one of the system's offered functionalities.

Overview of figures in the drawings

FIG. 1 shows a system for remote monitoring and direction of livestock movement and interconnection of its individual parts without a GPS module.

SK 53-2020 A3

FIG. 2 shows a system for remote monitoring and directing the movement of livestock and connecting its individual parts to a GPS module.

FIG. 3 shows a flow chart of the operation of a system for remote monitoring and directing the movement of animals in an automatic mode.

FIG. 4 shows a flow chart of the operation of a system for remotely monitoring and directing the movement of animals in an animal training mode.

Examples of embodiments of the invention

Example 1

The system for remote monitoring and directing the movement of livestock comprises at least one collar A which is attached to the neck of the animal, which comprises an electronic identifier 1 for identifying the animal. This is connected to the control module 2 connected to the transmitter / receiver module 3, to the vibration module 4, sound module 5, light module 6, electrostatic and to the power supply module 7 connected to the battery 8. The control module 2 is connected via bluetooth module 11 to sensors 10 for animal monitoring. Collar A is remotely electronically connected via the control module 2 via the transmitter / receiver module 3 to the externally located control unit 9 in automatic mode, or is connected to a transmitter 13 on the control module 2 in animal training mode. The control unit 9 is electronically connected to one or more external terminals 14.

The control module 2 may comprise a GPS module 12 as required, in particular to provide the function of an electronic virtual fence.

The animal monitoring sensors 10 may be located on the animal's body, or may be implanted directly in the animal's body.

A mobile transmitter 13 can be electronically connected to the control module 2 via the transmitter / receiver module 3 to control the control module 2 in the animal training mode.

The method for remote monitoring and directing the movement of livestock through the plant according to this technical solution comprises the following steps:

- collar A with electronic identifier 1 is attached to the neck of the animal to identify a specific animal

- sensors 10 for monitoring the animal are placed on the body and / or in the body of the animal

- the control module 2 is connected to the sensors 10 via the bluetooth module 11

- the control module 2 monitors and collects information about the movement of the animal and sends it via the transmitter / receiver module 3 to the control unit 9 or to the connected mobile transmitter 13

- in the case of training mode, the transmitter 13 sends instructions directly to the control module 2 via the transmitter / receiver module 3

- in the case of automatic mode, the control unit 9 processes and evaluates the information for the individual animals according to pre-set algorithms

- based on the data processing results, the inserted program in the control unit 9 automatically transmits instructions from the control unit 9 via the transmitter / receiver module 3 to the control module 2 to activate the individual connected modules and / or sends information to one or more connected external terminals 14, e.g. in the form of e-mails and notifications.

The control module 2 activates the vibration module 4, and / or activates the sound module 5, and / or activates the light module 6 on the basis of an instruction from the control unit 9 or from the mobile transmitter 13.

Example 2

In this example, the same equipment as in Example 1 is used. In this case, it is a way of finding a dairy cow in a herd. We will use a walkie-talkie 13. A breeder who needs to search a dairy cow in a herd daily, for example for treatment, will put a collar A on the cow. Similarly, the sound module 5 can be used to activate the sound signal. In this way, the caregiver simply finds the dairy cow on which he needs to perform the procedure (eg antibiotic treatment, wound cleaning or limb treatment).

Example 3

In this example, the same equipment as in Example 1 is used. This is a situation where the breeder needs the cow to come separately to a certain defined area where she will be treated. We will use a walkie-talkie 13. If a daily operation is performed on a dairy cow for several days or weeks (eg treatment of chronic mastitis), it is advisable to teach the dairy cow to go for treatment on her own. We achieve this by triggering an audible and vibrating signal when the dairy cow is handed over to the defined area and the dairy cow is taken to this area. It is also advisable for us to provide the cow with nuclear feed and water as a reward. This is how many dairy cows

SK 53-2020 A3 will soon learn to come for treatment on their own. If necessary, we can also use an electrostatic signal.

Example 4

In this example, the same equipment as in Example 1 is used, and a method is described where the breeder needs the dairy cow to visit the impressive robot on her own. It should be noted that the dairy cow requires a short training. We will use a walkie-talkie 13. If the breeder finds that a certain dairy cow has not visited the milking robot for a long time (for example 12 hours), he must look for the dairy cow in the herd and find out its health status. If the cow is able to get up and walk independently, she puts the collar A on the cow and triggers an audible and vibrating signal via the transmitter 13, introducing the cow into the milking robot. On the second visit to the robot, together with the sound and vibration signal, it also triggers a short-term electrostatic signal (the lowest intensity) and leads the cow to the milking robot where we turn off all signals.

This must be done at least twice. We increase the intensity of the electrostatic signal at each subsequent visit. In the next step, we test whether, after the sound and vibration signal starts, the cow gets up and goes to the robot on her own. If so, the training was sufficient and we can delegate the milking call control to the control unit 9 and the device will continue to operate in automatic mode (we will turn on automatic milking calls on the connected computer).

Example 5

In this example, the same device as in Example 1 is used. The device operates in automatic mode. The animal has built-in sensors 10 for several bodily functions, for example: heart rate, body temperature, physical activity, chewing intensity. All sensors 10 are able to send information about the state of the animal practically continuously. Each sensor is connected via a bluetooth module 11, which communicates with the collar A and its control module 2. The control module 2 requests data from individual sensors 10 at regular intervals and then sends them to the control unit 9 (to the superior computer), where the data for individual animals according to the data from the electronic identifier 1 are processed and evaluated by a software application. In your morning report or immediately, e.g. by means of an e-mail or an SMS message, the control unit 9 notifies the breeder of the individual facts which it has obtained on the basis of the received and processed signals from the individual sensors 10 of the dairy cows. In this way, the system can automatically alert the farmer to sick dairy cows that need immediate treatment (laminitis, febrile illness), or even to dairy cows that have swamp.

Industrial applicability

The device according to the present solution can be used mainly in the field of animal husbandry, and is used for remote monitoring and control of the movement of animals, especially farm animals such as cows, sheep, goats and the like. The device equipped with a GPS module can be used as a virtual fence. The device can also be used in zoos to guide the movement of animals, or it can also be used in conservation activities, e.g. to monitor the health status of animals in the wild.

SK 53-2020 A3

Collar reference marks (A) Electronic identifier (1) Control module (2) Transmitter / receiver module (3) Vibration module (4) Sound module (5) Light module (6) Electrostatic and power supply module (7) Battery (8) control unit (9) sensors (10) animal monitoring bluetooth module (11)

GPS module (12) mobile transmitter (13) external terminal (14)

SK 53-2020 A3

PATENT CLAIMS

Claims (9)

PATENT CLAIMS A system for remote monitoring and directing the movement of livestock, characterized in that it comprises at least one collar (A) for attachment to the neck of an animal, which comprises an electronic identifier (1) for identifying the animal and is connected to a control module (2), which is connected to the transmitter / receiver module (3), to the vibration module (4), the sound module (5), the light module (6), the electrostatic and power supply module (7) connected to the battery (8), and the control module (2) is connected to the sensors (10) for monitoring the animal via a connected bluetooth module (11), and the control module (2) is remotely electronically connected via a transmitter / receiver module (3) to an externally located control unit (9) for controlling the control module (2) ) in the operating mode, or the control module (2) is connected via a transmitter / receiver module (3) to a mobile transmitter (13), the control unit (9) being electronically connected to one or more external terminals (14). System for remote monitoring and direction of livestock movement according to claim 1, characterized in that the control module (2) is connected to the GPS module (12) via a transmitter / receiver module (3). System for remote monitoring and directing the movement of livestock according to claims 1 and 2, characterized in that the sensors (10) for monitoring the animal are located on the body of the animal. System for remote monitoring and directing the movement of livestock according to claims 1 and 2, characterized in that the sensors (10) for monitoring the animal are located in the body of the animal. System for remote monitoring and direction of livestock movement according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that a mobile transmitter (13) for controlling the control module is electronically connected to the control module (2) via a transmitter / receiver module (3) (2) in animal training mode. A method for remotely monitoring and directing the movement of livestock through a device according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises the following steps: a collar (A) with an electronic identifier (1) is attached to the animal's neck, to the animal's body and / or to the animal's body sensors (10) for monitoring the animal are placed, the control module (2) is connected to the sensors (10) via a connected bluetooth module (11), the control module (2) collects information about the movement of the animal and sends it via the transmitting / receiving module (3) ) to the remote control unit (9), in case of using the control unit (9) it processes and evaluates information for individual animals according to pre-set algorithms, in the control unit (9) the inserted program automatically transmits from the control unit (9) based on data processing results ) via the instruction transmitting / receiving module (3) to the control module (2) and / or sends information in the form of e-mails and notifications to one or more connected external devices (14), in the case of using a mobile transmitter (13), it sends instructions directly via the transmitting / receiving module (3) to the control module (2). Method for remote monitoring and directing the movement of livestock according to claim 6, characterized in that the control module (2) activates the vibration module (4) on the basis of an instruction from the control unit (9) or from the mobile transmitter (13). Method for remote monitoring and directing the movement of livestock according to claim 6, characterized in that the control module (2) activates the sound module (5) on the basis of an instruction from the control unit (9) or from the mobile transmitter (13). Method for remote monitoring and directing the movement of livestock according to claim 6, characterized in that the control module (2) activates the light module (6) on the basis of an instruction from the control unit (9) or from the mobile transmitter (13).