Fitbit for monitoring cows

Data plays an important role in cow health

Livestock farming in the Netherlands has to deal with many interesting developments. Farms are increasingly digitizing and animal welfare is high on the agenda. Data plays an important role in keeping a close eye on the health of cows. At Engineero, we are working on tags as well as an overarching system that can detect abnormalities in the behavior or reduced well-being of a cow at an early stage. With this detection it is possible for farmers to monitor and manage the performance of their cows.

This technical issue came from an organization that wants to make life better and more beautiful with technology. This also applies to animal life. The software and hardware developed in the field of pigs and cows had been around for several years. In order to keep up with all new developments, the need arose to further develop existing technology and to establish links with other systems.

''The physical technique we are working on is a so-called 'fitbit' for cows. The tag measures the cow's activities and can see if it is exhibiting abnormal or undesirable behaviour. In this way, a farmer can monitor the health of the animals properly and actions can be taken in good time. When a cow turns out to be in heat, it can be considered for insemination and a vet can be called in." - Ronald

The technique we work with is a so-called "fitbit" for cows
Ronald & Sharon

Technical challenge

Not only are the requirements regarding animal welfare increasing, the desire to identify a cow in heat, insemination possibilities or miscarriages in good time are also important factors in further digitizing a farm. But how do you map out a barn and how do you ensure that you process the data in such a way that a farmer can anticipate it? The physical technique - the so-called “fitbit” - gives an indication of how an animal is doing overall. In order to link data with other systems, a cloud-based solution has been developed that monitors the cows and pigs. In this way, data can also be shared with other breeding farms, dairy farmers or genetics companies that, for example, test which food produces the most meat or which breed produces the best milk production.

Engineering expertise

For this issue, Engineero was called in to assist in software development and to automate things in the test department to improve the process. In order to be able to catch errors in the development process at an early stage, the test team has been further professionalized from a Scrum and Agile method. We also contributed to the further development of the Fitbit for cows. An important development is the extra module and link with a new installation. When the cows are weighed and there is a deviating measurement, the cow can be forwarded to another machine for an extra weight check. This data is collected and through the developed module it enters the cloud-based system, giving a farmer good insight into the health of the cows. The ultimate goal is to monitor and manage the performance of the cows by means of detection.

''We are working on a cloud-based solution, as well as on the physical technology at the farmer and the link between them to pass on information. When you know what's going on, you can find out what can and cannot be linked together technically." - Sharon

Engineering projects

Our engineers work on technical issues and challenges in various markets. Each market requires a different expertise. Our technical specialists therefore use their knowledge and skills to provide challenging issues with the right answers. In order to find solutions together with our customers that make people's lives easier