Animal Sound...Talks!Real-time Sound Analysis for Health Monitoring in Livestock

摘要

Precision livestock farming (PLF) is a livestock management technology that puts the living organism in the centre and equipment around to measure the animal's response.Sound-based PLF techniques have significant advantages over other technologies such as cameras or accelerometers.Besides the fact that microphones are contactless and relatively cheap, there is no need for a direct line of sight, while large groups of animals can be monitored with a single sensor in a room.The objective of this paper is to present an example of a successful soundbased PLF product, in order to encourage the reader to consider performing sound-based PLF research in the future.The respiratory distress monitor, a tool that automatically monitors the respiratory health status of a group of pigs, was selected for discussion in this paper.Results of five different use cases are discussed to show the effectiveness of the respiratory distress monitor as an early warning tool for respiratory problems in a pig house.It is demonstrated that the tool works for the early detection of animal responses due to technical issues (ventilation problems) and health issues in a wide range of different conditions in commercial European pig houses.