Fitbit for cows. Health tracking device for maximizing dairy cow milk production.
It is of critical importance for the farmers that have dairy milk production cows to know the exact day and hour their cows have an estrous cycle period, which indicates that the animal is ready for insemination. Usually this is done by monitoring the cows for various physical signs. If the farmer misses the day then the cow will not get pregnant and this will result in no milk production for around 20 days.
Thankfully, when the cows have an estrous cycle, they start running here and there like crazy and generally speaking they are more active. This activity can be detected with a small device that measures the steps a cow takes on a daily basis and when it exceeds them, the farmer will know that it is ready for insemination.
The device can be a very tiny device (in the size of a smartwatch) that contains an acceleration sensor, a small battery and a tiny processor. The device should be able to do very simple mathematical calculations in order to detect a step. Such device can also be worn either on the foot of the cow or in the head or neck.
Also, if we have a farm that has 1000 cows being monitored by such devices, there is somehow a need to upload their data to the cloud. Obviously it is impossible to install a GSM modem in every device as the cost of the device will go up quite a lot. In order to solve that problem, the devices will need to connect in other nearby devices that have internet connection. These devices will act like Access Points although they will play a slightly different role.
Each Friday is PiDay here at Adafruit! Be sure to check out our posts, tutorials and new Raspberry Pi related products. Adafruit has the largest and best selection of Raspberry Pi accessories and all the code & tutorials to get you up and running in no time!
Adafruit publishes a wide range of writing and video content, including interviews and reporting on the maker market and the wider technology world. Our standards page is intended as a guide to best practices that Adafruit uses, as well as an outline of the ethical standards Adafruit aspires to. While Adafruit is not an independent journalistic institution, Adafruit strives to be a fair, informative, and positive voice within the community – check it out here: adafruit.com/editorialstandards
Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, TinyGO, or even use the Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for CircuitPython, MakeCode, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.
Have an amazing project to share? The Electronics Show and Tell is every Wednesday at 7:30pm ET! To join, head over to YouTube and check out the show’s live chat and our Discord!
Each Friday is PiDay here at Adafruit! Be sure to check out our posts, tutorials and new Raspberry Pi related products. Adafruit has the largest and best selection of Raspberry Pi accessories and all the code & tutorials to get you up and running in no time!