Wearable collars make sure the cows come home

The sturdy, bell-shaped GPS collar brings wearable technology and the IoT to livestock. Containing an array of sensors, the collar tracks the cow’s every movement and is able to match this to particular behaviour, such as grazing, socialising or simply lying down. This information is then sent in real-time through mobile GSM networks to a central hub.

There it is analysed in conjunction with other data such as milk yields and grass length, which is monitored by the Grass Hopper measuring device, also designed by CID. Through the Grass Hopper, farmers can instantly see where the longest, lushest grass is and then ensure that cows are grazing in the best area by creating location-based virtual electric fences using the cow bell collars, which confine them to specific pastures. These geo-fences can be easily and remotely changed dependent on grazing conditions, increasing efficiency as they remove the time and manpower needed to manually put up and take down physical electric fences. The project is now in the trial phase in Ireland and results will be published when the project concludes, which is expected to be in June 2016.

“Wearables, such as the Apple Watch, may be stealing the headlines, but tracking the behaviour of cows is equally vital to farmers who want to best manage their grazing,” said Tim Evans, Design Director, Cambridge Industrial Design. “In creating this sensor we took our inspiration from the traditional alpine cow bell, using a rounded shape to minimise the size and maximise strength. This ensures it is rugged enough to cope with being bashed against fences and feeding troughs and simple enough for farmers to remove for cleaning and recharging.”

Cambridge Industrial Design was also responsible for the manufacture of the cow bells, using one of its network of trusted suppliers. Created from super tough glass-filled nylon, they were manufactured using the selective laser sintering 3D printing process to enable fast prototyping and revisions during the field trial phase of the project.

“Contrary to popular belief agriculture is increasingly reliant on technology to maximise yields and ensure the highest standards of animal welfare,” said Patrick Halton, Managing and Technology Director, True North Technologies. “By combining our strengths in GPS and location technology with Cambridge Industrial Design’s skills we have been able to create an innovative, tough product that will help dairy farmers to optimise their operations.”