Saskatchewan-based start-up adapts human wearable technology to track cattle health, detect calving and lameness, and cut monitoring costs for producers
A Saskatchewan start-up is betting that the same artificial intelligence technology used in human fitness wearables can help cattle producers monitor herd health — at a fraction of the cost of existing smart-tag systems.
Ori Cattle‘s smart ear tag uses onboard sensors and AI to learn each animal’s baseline behaviour, then alerts producers when something changes. Founder James Babcock describes the concept simply.
“Think of it as a Fitbit for a cow,” Babcock said in an interview.
The tag monitors a range of health and activity indicators, including:
- heart rate and overall health signals
- lameness detection
- heat and calving proximity
- water and food intake
- grazing patterns and location
If anything deviates from an animal’s established routine, the system sends a notification to the producer’s phone or online dashboard.
From human wearables to cattle monitoring
Ori Cattle is the agricultural arm of Ori AI Technologies, which Babcock founded to develop human wearable products — a ring that captures biometric and emotional signals and the NorthBand smartwatch, which offers coaching and wellness insights.
Babcock, who grew up on a farm, said the leap from human to animal wasn’t as large as it might seem.
“What we did was we just took our technology from the human wearables and then transferred it over to cattle, because it’s mammals. It’s the same technology,” he said. “We wanted to give a better device for producers and for family members with no subscription fees and at a better price point.”
The ear tag is the company’s first agricultural product. Ori Cattle was founded in 2023 and launched its first pilot this year.
How ‘Emotional AI’ tracks your herd
Babcock calls the system’s underlying technology “Emotional AI” — his term for the pattern-recognition engine that establishes and monitors each animal’s behavioural baseline.
Every tag stores its own data, he said. Over time, the AI builds a profile of the cow’s daily routine — typical heart rate, how much water it drinks, how often it eats, how frequently it urinates or defecates. When the system detects a deviation from that baseline, it flags the change for the producer.
Babcock said the technology can also detect when an animal is close to calving, giving producers enough lead time to check on the cow.
Several other smart tags are already on the market. Smart Paddock uses GPS to track cattle location more effectively than collars. Ceres Tag provides GPS tracking and behavioural insights into grazing patterns and movement. CowManager is an ear sensor that measures temperature, rumination, eating and activity.
Babcock said Ori Cattle’s tag is distinct from these products because of its AI-driven baseline learning, which he said goes beyond GPS tracking or single-metric monitoring to build a fuller behavioural picture of each animal.
Built for producers
Babcock said the system was designed with simplicity in mind. The dashboard — accessible online or through a smartphone — is built to be intuitive.
“It’s no different than using Facebook, or if you’re locating a tag, it’s no different than Find My iPhone,” he said.
The tag itself applies like any standard ear tag. Babcock said the company designed a locking back that resists rubbing, along with a pressure-release clip that prevents the tag from tearing through the ear if it catches on something. If a tag does come off, its GPS tracking feature allows it to be located and reapplied.
The dashboard also includes a record-keeping function. Producers can maintain health monitoring records with timestamps and dates, and print PDF reports for veterinarians or for use during transport.
Babcock said all data stays with the user and is only used to train the AI. The tag is rated for –60 C and is designed as a year-round monitoring tool.
“We recommend you have them on all your cattle, so that you get the proper baseline and you can see all the health of your cattle,” he said.
Pilot underway, commercial launch to follow
The tag is currently in its pilot phase — the first time Ori’s AI technology has been applied to cattle after being developed for human use. The pilot runs from late March through June, after which the company plans to refine the system for commercial rollout.
Pricing has been set to be accessible:
- Pilot price: $35 per tag
- Commercial price: $68 per tag
- Subscription fees: None
“The tags, or the bracelets, are really expensive, and they pay subscription fees or per-day use,” Babcock said of competing products. “We just wanted to cut that down and make it a good price point.”
More than 100 farms have registered for the pilot, and Babcock said interest is spreading into the United States. The product drew a steady crowd at the Saskatchewan Beef Industry Conference’s first Beef Tech Breakfast, where the sign-up sheet to learn more filled up quickly.
“We’re trying to build it around the producers, so they know what they’re getting and they’re getting value out of it,” Babcock said. “It just shows that we’re building something that they see as valuable.”
If the pilot goes well, Babcock said the company plans to expand into the horse industry and continue advancing the technology.
