Researchers at the Australian University of Sydney have presented what could be defined as the world’s first “smart cow”, capable of making livestock farming more efficient and environmentally friendly.
It is a project launched 10 years ago that can determine the type and density of pastures and monitor the health of cattle. Thanks to its machine learning (AI) systems, the “smart cow” uses this data to autonomously lead cattle to the best pastures and move them before the soil degrades.
Australia is one of the largest exporters of beef in the world, with around 30 million heads of cattle spread across a vast landscape that is often dry and whose pastures can be poor. Farmers constantly assess how many animals their land can support, but many have little control over where the animals graze within large enclosed areas.
This instrument (it does not look exactly like a cow) has the ability to organize all the cattle and move them around the plots where it considers the field to be in better condition, but it also helps contribute to soil degradation because it prevents overgrazing, dividing consumption between all areas of the land.
This “intelligent cow” has the ability to make the cattle follow it when they get used to its presence, indicating which areas they should feed in. To do this, producers can follow the grazing live and make an evaluation based on the data it provides, knowing which parts of their land are more nutritious.
You can find more information at this link.
You can watch the video here:
