Artificial intelligence is making it easier for farmers and ranchers to keep an eye on their livestock.
At the recent Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show at Woodstock, Ont., OneCup AI showcased how its AI technology uses computer vision technology to identify and monitor livestock. In this video, the company’s CEO, Mokah Shmigelsky gives us a snapshot of how Bovine Expert Tracking and Surveillance Technology, or BETSY, works.
Shmigelsky says farmers and ranchers can use BETSY’s computer vision to monitor and track animal health, welfare, activity, growth and nutrition. The AI monitors animals, onsite, using an Internet-of-Things model. It consists of a small computing device and several cameras physically located where cattle amass, such as a watering hole, salt lick, or feeding station.
The AI generates a full data set using these camera, capturing every animal feature over time. This profile of the animal is then used to monitor animal health, welfare, activity, growth and nutrition, predict calving, detect heat and more.
Shmigelsky notes that BETSY comes with WiFi upgrades to allow it to transmit and process the data it captures. The AI program is highly proactive, taking the initiative to notify the producer or rancher by text and email if an urgent matter arises, such as a calving event or disease detection. It also uploads all observations to the cloud, allowing for the entire historical dataset for individuals and herds to be reviewed by the farmer.
BETSY is a subscription-based program and comes ready to operate right out of the box. It typically requires four to six cameras, depending on the number of animals being monitored, adds Shmigelsky. Everything happens in the cloud and cost is based on a per camera, per-month model, with each camera costing $40 per month.
Source : https://www.realagriculture.com/2022/10/tracking-and-monitoring-livestock-with-computer-vision/
