Assessment of a UWB Real Time Location System for Dairy Cows’ Monitoring
In the field of precision livestock farming, many systems have been developed to identify the position of each cow of the herd individually in a specific environment. Challenges still exist in assessing the adequacy of the available systems to monitor individual animals in specific environments, and...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2023-05-01
|
| Series: | Sensors |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/23/10/4873 |
| _version_ | 1827740108037554176 |
|---|---|
| author | Provvidenza Rita D’Urso Claudia Arcidiacono Matti Pastell Giovanni Cascone |
| author_facet | Provvidenza Rita D’Urso Claudia Arcidiacono Matti Pastell Giovanni Cascone |
| author_sort | Provvidenza Rita D’Urso |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In the field of precision livestock farming, many systems have been developed to identify the position of each cow of the herd individually in a specific environment. Challenges still exist in assessing the adequacy of the available systems to monitor individual animals in specific environments, and in the design of new systems. The main purpose of this research was to evaluate the performance of the SEWIO ultrawide-band (UWB) real time location system for the identification and localisation of cows during their activity in the barn through preliminary analyses in laboratory conditions. The objectives included the quantification of the errors performed by the system in laboratory conditions, and the assessment of the suitability of the system for real time monitoring of cows in dairy barns. The position of static and dynamic points was monitored in different experimental set-ups in the laboratory by the use of six anchors. Then, the errors related to a specific movement of the points were computed and statistical analyses were carried out. In detail, the one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was applied in order to assess the equality of the errors for each group of points in relation to their positions or typology, i.e., static or dynamic. In the post-hoc analysis, the errors were separated by Tukey’s honestly significant difference at <i>p</i> > 0.05. The results of the research quantify the errors related to a specific movement (i.e., static and dynamic points) and the position of the points (i.e., central area, perimeter of the investigated area). Based on the results, specific information is provided for the installation of the SEWIO in dairy barns as well as the monitoring of the animal behaviour in the resting area and the feeding area of the breeding environment. The SEWIO system could be a valuable support for farmers in herd management and for researchers in the analysis of animal behavioural activities. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T03:20:19Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-5c005fc3e9c749f7a6130271b6aa764d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1424-8220 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T03:20:19Z |
| publishDate | 2023-05-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Sensors |
| spelling | doaj.art-5c005fc3e9c749f7a6130271b6aa764d2023-11-18T03:13:50ZengMDPI AGSensors1424-82202023-05-012310487310.3390/s23104873Assessment of a UWB Real Time Location System for Dairy Cows’ MonitoringProvvidenza Rita D’Urso0Claudia Arcidiacono1Matti Pastell2Giovanni Cascone3Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment (Di3A)—Building and Land Engineering Section, University of Catania, Via Santa Sofia n° 100, 95123 Catania, ItalyDepartment of Agriculture, Food and Environment (Di3A)—Building and Land Engineering Section, University of Catania, Via Santa Sofia n° 100, 95123 Catania, ItalyNatural Resources Institute Finland, Luke Latokartanonkaari 9, 00790 Helsinki, FinlandDepartment of Agriculture, Food and Environment (Di3A)—Building and Land Engineering Section, University of Catania, Via Santa Sofia n° 100, 95123 Catania, ItalyIn the field of precision livestock farming, many systems have been developed to identify the position of each cow of the herd individually in a specific environment. Challenges still exist in assessing the adequacy of the available systems to monitor individual animals in specific environments, and in the design of new systems. The main purpose of this research was to evaluate the performance of the SEWIO ultrawide-band (UWB) real time location system for the identification and localisation of cows during their activity in the barn through preliminary analyses in laboratory conditions. The objectives included the quantification of the errors performed by the system in laboratory conditions, and the assessment of the suitability of the system for real time monitoring of cows in dairy barns. The position of static and dynamic points was monitored in different experimental set-ups in the laboratory by the use of six anchors. Then, the errors related to a specific movement of the points were computed and statistical analyses were carried out. In detail, the one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was applied in order to assess the equality of the errors for each group of points in relation to their positions or typology, i.e., static or dynamic. In the post-hoc analysis, the errors were separated by Tukey’s honestly significant difference at <i>p</i> > 0.05. The results of the research quantify the errors related to a specific movement (i.e., static and dynamic points) and the position of the points (i.e., central area, perimeter of the investigated area). Based on the results, specific information is provided for the installation of the SEWIO in dairy barns as well as the monitoring of the animal behaviour in the resting area and the feeding area of the breeding environment. The SEWIO system could be a valuable support for farmers in herd management and for researchers in the analysis of animal behavioural activities.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/23/10/4873monitoringerror assessmentreal time measurementultra-wideband technologylaboratory experimentcow localization |
| spellingShingle | Provvidenza Rita D’Urso Claudia Arcidiacono Matti Pastell Giovanni Cascone Assessment of a UWB Real Time Location System for Dairy Cows’ Monitoring Sensors monitoring error assessment real time measurement ultra-wideband technology laboratory experiment cow localization |
| title | Assessment of a UWB Real Time Location System for Dairy Cows’ Monitoring |
| title_full | Assessment of a UWB Real Time Location System for Dairy Cows’ Monitoring |
| title_fullStr | Assessment of a UWB Real Time Location System for Dairy Cows’ Monitoring |
| title_full_unstemmed | Assessment of a UWB Real Time Location System for Dairy Cows’ Monitoring |
| title_short | Assessment of a UWB Real Time Location System for Dairy Cows’ Monitoring |
| title_sort | assessment of a uwb real time location system for dairy cows monitoring |
| topic | monitoring error assessment real time measurement ultra-wideband technology laboratory experiment cow localization |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/23/10/4873 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT provvidenzaritadurso assessmentofauwbrealtimelocationsystemfordairycowsmonitoring AT claudiaarcidiacono assessmentofauwbrealtimelocationsystemfordairycowsmonitoring AT mattipastell assessmentofauwbrealtimelocationsystemfordairycowsmonitoring AT giovannicascone assessmentofauwbrealtimelocationsystemfordairycowsmonitoring |