Even cows can benefit from having a mobile device. A new collar being developed for cattle ranchers could send cow health updates to farmers’ cellphones. The device could help ranchers save money in the long run, monitoring the health of their animals and prevent accidental deaths.
The Silent Herdsman collar will track the movements of the cow using the same type of sensors found in Wii devices. That data is relayed to the rancher via a cellphone using a variety of technologies including 3G. This technology could also send farmers instant notification if their animals are in heat, going into labor or in distress.
Researchers also hope to determine which movements the sensor will pick up to determine when cows are in heat…
The collar is being developed by researchers from the University of Strathclyde, Morrisons, Scottish Agricultural College, Harbro, Well Cow, National Milk Records (NMR) and Embedded Technology Solutions. A three-year grant for the project co-funded by the UK’s Technology Strategy Board equals roughly more than $2 million.
The project is taking place at Morrisons farm and Dumfries House for technology research in Scotland.
As reported on farminguk.com, David Alvis, director of the Technology Strategy Board’s sustainable agriculture and food projects, said, “Addressing animal health and welfare challenges and improving animal performance monitoring are vital pieces of the food security jigsaw. The technologies developed through this project have the potential to benefit farming communities in the UK and around the world and we wish the partners every success.”
This isn’t the first invention to connect cattle to monitoring technology. As the world population expands and the need for sustainable food sources grow, solutions involving technology and urban farming become more prevalent.
Via Mashable