The Smart Farm system is being tested in real conditions

The system for monitoring the cattle condition based on wearable sensors, developed at the NTI Competence Center “Sensorica” is being tested in real conditions on a farm in Sverdlovsk region.

The development is expected to be at least 20% cheaper than foreign analogues and to increase the productivity of one animal by 2-3 liters of milk per day due to the timely response to deviations in food or water consumption.

During the first part of the experiment, scientists tested a sensory collar that was attached to a cow and recorded tracks of motor activity. Experts add that the system also allows to detect estrus and give animal technicians a signal about the parturition.

“During the second part of the tests, we installed eight boluses in the stomachs of the cows participating in the testing,” comments Vladimir Zhmylev, an employee of the NTI Competence Center "Sensorica”, an assistant at the Institute of Microdevices and Control Systems, “and now we are monitoring their readings. We set up a base station, connected the system to the Internet and remotely collect data. At the same time, this information is processed by appropriate algorithms”.

The dimensions of the capsule are up to 140 mm in length, up to 40 mm in diameter; the weight of the device is maximum 250 g.

“Currently, there are two groups of animals in the farm: an experimental one with boluses and a control one without boluses. The algorithms let us give recommendations to farmers weekly,” adds Vladimir Zhmylev. – “At the end of the experiment we would like to see the difference in the productivity of the two groups”.

Scientists are planning to improve the design and data processing algorithms, optimize the web interface and launch mass production of the system on the JSC “Zavod Proton” in Zelenograd.