Cattle evaluation device and cattle evaluation method

Abstract

To provide a cow evaluation apparatus and a cow evaluation method which can be applied to various sites of breeding.SOLUTION: A cow evaluation apparatus 100 acquires a two-dimensional photographed image 50 obtained by imaging a cow in a standing posture from substantially right behind, extracts a contour line 60 of the cow from the photographed image 50, specifies a reference dimension related to a size in a lateral width direction of the body of the cow from the contour line 60, specifies a reference range 306 sandwiched by two straight lines 330, 332 that are separated by a first distance equivalent to a first ratio of the reference dimension and by a second distance equivalent to a second ratio of the reference dimension to an inner side of the contour line 60 from the leftmost point on the leftmost side of the contour line 60 and that are substantially orthogonal to the separation direction, decides a plurality of straight lines 310a-310e from a plurality of points 307 on a continuous portion located in a reference range 306 of the contour line 60, calculates a maximum inclination, a minimum inclination or an average inclination of the plurality of decided straight lines 310a-310e, and evaluates fleshiness of the cow on the basis of the calculated maximum inclination, minimum inclination or average inclination.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a cattle evaluation device and a cattle evaluation method. [Background technology]

[0002] In order to evaluate the energy balance in the feeding management of cattle, the state of body fat (fleshiness) of cattle is evaluated. One index showing the state of body fat is the body condition score. Normally, the body condition score is judged by veterinarians or dairy experts, but because the judgement is made by humans, the judgment criteria become vague and the judgment varies. Meanwhile, there are known methods for evaluating a score indicating the body condition based on a three-dimensional image of an animal (e.g., Patent Document 1) and a method for evaluating a score indicating the body condition based on a two-dimensional image of an animal (e.g., Patent Document 2). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Special Publication No. 2012-510278 [Patent Document 2] European Patent No. 2027770 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The evaluation method described in Patent Document 1 uses a three-dimensional image of the animal to calculate a score indicating the physical condition, so it is necessary to take images at a specific location where large-scale equipment is installed, and it is difficult to apply it to a variety of breeding sites. The evaluation method described in Patent Document 2 uses a two-dimensional image of the animal, but since it uses a two-dimensional image of the animal taken from above, it is necessary to take images at a specific location where equipment that can take images of the animal from above is installed, and like Patent Document 1, it is difficult to apply it to a variety of breeding sites.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above problems, and has an object to provide a cattle evaluation device and a cattle evaluation method that can be applied to a variety of breeding sites. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The cattle evaluation device of the present invention comprises an image acquisition unit that acquires a two-dimensional captured image of a cow in an upright position taken from approximately directly behind or approximately directly in front of it, an extraction unit that extracts a contour line of the cow from the captured image, a determination unit that specifies a reference dimension related to the size of the cow's body in the width direction from the contour line, and specifies a reference range sandwiched between two straight lines that are approximately orthogonal to each other in the direction of separation from the leftmost point on the leftmost side, the rightmost point on the rightmost side, or the topmost point on the topmost side of the contour line and are a first distance corresponding to a first proportion of the reference dimension and a second distance corresponding to a second proportion of the reference dimension inside the contour line, and determines one or more straight lines from a plurality of points on consecutive portions of the contour line that are located within the reference range, a calculation unit that calculates a slope of the one or more straight lines determined by the determination unit or a value obtained from the slope, and an evaluation unit that evaluates the fleshiness of the cow from the slope calculated by the calculation unit or the value obtained from the slope. Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to the present invention, it is possible to obtain a cattle evaluation device and a cattle evaluation method that can be applied to a variety of breeding sites. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a cattle evaluation device according to the first embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a control unit in the first embodiment. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of an image acquired by the image acquisition unit. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the process executed by the extraction unit. [Diagram 5]FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the processes executed by the determining unit and the calculating unit in the first embodiment. [Figure 6] Figures 6(a) to 6(c) are images of cows with different meat builds. [Figure 7] 7(a) and 7(b) are diagrams showing the relationship between the fleshiness of a cow and the slope of a straight line calculated by the calculation unit. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 shows the results of an experiment investigating the correlation between the body condition score and the maximum slope, minimum slope, and average slope of a plurality of straight lines calculated by the calculation unit. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the cow evaluation device according to the first embodiment. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing an example of a method for evaluating beef meatiness in the first embodiment. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining the processes executed by the determining unit and the calculating unit in the modified example of the first embodiment. [Figure 12] FIG. 12 is a diagram showing the results of an experiment investigating the correlation between the body condition score and the slope of the line calculated by the calculation unit. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining the processes executed by the determining unit and the calculating unit in the second embodiment. [Figure 14] FIG. 14 is a diagram showing the results of an experiment investigating the correlation between the body condition score and the average slope of a plurality of straight lines calculated by the calculation unit. [Figure 15] FIG. 15(a) is an image of a cow in an upright position captured from approximately directly behind, and FIG. 15(b) is an image of the cow in FIG. 15(a) captured from approximately the front. [Figure 16] FIGS. 16(a) and 16(b) are images in which the contour lines of the cow are extracted from the captured images of FIGS. 15(a) and 15(b). DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] First Embodiment A cow evaluation device 100 according to a first embodiment will be described below with reference to Figs. 1 to 10. Fig. 1 shows in a block diagram the configuration of the cow evaluation device 100 according to the first embodiment. Fig. 2 shows in a block diagram the functional configuration of a control unit 22. In this first embodiment, the evaluation device 100 is a portable information device carried and used by an operator. Examples of portable information devices include smartphones, tablet computers, PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants), and smart glasses. The evaluation device 100 has, for example, a telephone function, an email function, a communication function for connecting to the Internet, etc., and a data processing function for executing a program.

[0010] As shown in FIG. 1, the evaluation device 100 includes a display unit 12, an operation unit 14, a communication unit 16, an imaging unit 18, a storage unit 20, and a control unit 22.

[0011] The display unit 12 is a display device that displays images, various information, and operation input images such as touch operation buttons.

[0012] The operation unit 14 is a device such as a touch panel or a switch. The touch panel accepts information input in response to a worker's touch and transmits the accepted information to the control unit 22. The touch panel is incorporated in, for example, the display unit 12. Therefore, the touch panel accepts various information inputs in response to the worker's touch on the surface of the display unit 12. The switch is an operating member that accepts an operation on the evaluation device 100 from the worker and transmits the accepted information to the control unit 22.

[0013] The communication unit 16 is a communication interface that performs short-range wireless communication (e.g., NFC (Near Field Communication)) with other devices, and wireless communication (e.g., communication using a mobile phone line or a wireless LAN (Local Area Network)) with other devices connected to the network.

[0014] The imaging unit 18 is a device that captures images such as still images and videos. The imaging unit 18 captures images in response to an operator carrying the evaluation device 100 operating the operation unit 14. When evaluating the fleshiness of a cow, the operator uses the imaging unit 18 to capture an image of the cow in a standing position from approximately directly behind. Capturing an image from approximately directly behind means capturing an image in a range that captures the outline of the cow's left and right hip angles. Therefore, the operator captures an image from a position several meters (e.g., 1 m to 2 m) behind the cow so that the outline of the cow's left and right hip angles can be captured.

[0015] The memory unit 20 stores various information such as captured images of the cow, extracted images of the cow's contour lines, and evaluation results of the cow's body fatness.

[0016] The control unit 22 is a processing unit that controls each unit of the cow evaluation device 100. As shown in Fig. 2, the control unit 22 has an image acquisition unit 30, an extraction unit 32, a determination unit 38, a calculation unit 34, and an evaluation unit 36.

[0017] FIG. 3 shows an example of an image acquired by the image acquisition unit 30. As shown in FIG. 3, the image acquisition unit 30 acquires an image 50 of, for example, a cow in an upright position, captured from approximately directly behind the cow. The image 50 of the cow to be acquired may be an image captured by the imaging unit 18, or an image captured by another device and received by the communication unit 16. The image 50 of the cow to be acquired may be an image selected by the operator using the operation unit 14 from among those stored in the storage unit 20. The image acquisition unit 30 may display the acquired image 50 of the cow on the display unit 12. This allows the operator to visually recognize on the display unit 12 the cow to be evaluated for fleshiness.

[0018] FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the process executed by the extraction unit 32. As shown in FIG. 4, the extraction unit 32 extracts a contour line 60 that traces the outline of the cow from the captured image 50 of the cow acquired by the image acquisition unit 30. A generally known image processing technique can be used for the extraction of the contour line 60. The extraction unit 32 may display an extracted image 51 that shows only the extracted contour line 60 of the cow on the display unit 12. This allows the operator to visually recognize on the display unit 12 the outline of the cow whose fleshiness is to be evaluated. The outer shape of the extracted image 51 is the same as that of the captured image 50, and the position of the cow relative to the frame of the image is the same in the extracted image 51 and the captured image 50.

[0019] There are peaks 61a and 61b on both the left and right sides of the upper part of the contour line 60. The peaks 61a and 61b correspond to the cow's hip angles. The peak 61a has a vertex 62a at the approximate center of the peak 61a on the contour line 60, a first curved portion 63a extending from the vertex 62a to the upper center of the contour line 60 (the cow's spine side), and a second curved portion 64a extending from the vertex 62a to the lower side of the contour line 60 (the cow's belly side). Similarly, the peak 61b has a vertex 62b at the approximate center of the peak 61b on the contour line 60, a first curved portion 63b extending from the vertex 62b to the upper center of the contour line 60 (the cow's spine side), and a second curved portion 64b extending from the vertex 62b to the lower side of the contour line 60 (the cow's belly side). The first curved portions 63a, 63b can be considered to be curved portions extending from approximately the center point (vertices 62a, 62b) on the contour line 60 of the peaks 61a, 61b to the other peak side (the cow's spine side). The second curved portions 64a, 64b can be considered to be curved portions extending from approximately the center point (vertices 62a, 62b) on the contour line 60 of the peaks 61a, 61b to the opposite side to the first curved portions 63a, 63b.

[0020] FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the process executed by the determination unit 38 and the calculation unit 34 in the first embodiment. FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of the upper part of the contour line 60, and is illustrated diagrammatically for clarity (the same applies to the following similar figures). As shown in FIG. 5, the determination unit 38 first specifies a reference dimension related to the size in the width direction of the cow's body from the contour line 60. In the first embodiment, the distance W between a vertical line 304 that passes through the leftmost point 302 on the left side of the contour line 60 and extends vertically (up and down) in the extracted image 51, and a vertical line 305 that passes through the rightmost point 303 on the right side of the contour line 60 and extends vertically (up and down) in the extracted image 51 is specified as the reference dimension. For example, the leftmost point 302 can be specified as the point where the vertical line first touches the contour line 60 by moving the vertical line extending in the up and down direction in the extracted image 51 closer to the contour line 60 from the left side. Alternatively, the leftmost point 302 may be specified by other methods, for example, the extracted image 51 may be converted into an XY coordinate system and the leftmost point 302 may be specified from the X and Y coordinates of each pixel of the extracted image 51, or the point on the contour 60 that is the shortest distance from the left edge of the extracted image 51 may be set as the leftmost point 302. The same applies to the rightmost point 303.

[0021] Next, the determination unit 38 determines a first distance corresponding to a first ratio of the determined reference dimension W, and a second distance corresponding to a second ratio of the reference dimension W. The determination unit 38 then determines a reference range 306 sandwiched between a straight line 330 that is separated from the leftmost point 302 of the contour line 60 by the first distance inside the contour line 60 and is substantially perpendicular (for example, perpendicular) in the direction away, and a straight line 332 that is separated from the leftmost point 302 by the second distance inside the contour line 60 and is substantially perpendicular (for example, perpendicular) in the direction away. In the first embodiment, the determination unit 38 uses 20% as the first ratio to determine 0.2W as the first distance, and uses 30% as the second ratio to determine 0.3W as the second distance. Therefore, it can be said that the reference range 306 is a range that is separated from the vertical line 304 passing through the leftmost point 302 by 0.2W or more and 0.3W or less. Next, the determination unit 38 identifies a plurality of points 307 on a continuous portion of the contour 60 located within the reference range 306, and determines a plurality of straight lines 310a, 310b, 310c, 310d, and 310e passing through two of the plurality of points 307. In the present first embodiment, the plurality of points 307 are two points where the straight lines 330 and 332 intersect with the contour 60, and four points where the contour 60 intersects with four vertical lines that divide the reference range 306 into five equal parts in the left-right direction. In the present first embodiment, the plurality of straight lines 310a to 310e are five straight lines 310a to 310e that pass through each of five pairs of adjacent two points obtained from the six points 307.

[0022] The calculation unit 34 calculates the inclination of the straight lines 310a-310e determined by the determination unit 38 with respect to a horizontal line extending in the horizontal direction (left-right direction) in the extracted image 51. In the first embodiment, the inclination of the straight lines 310a-310e determined by the determination unit 38 is positive when the straight lines extend from the lower left to the upper right in the extracted image 51, and is negative when the straight lines extend from the lower right to the upper left. The calculation unit 34 obtains the maximum inclination, minimum inclination, or average inclination from the inclination of each of the multiple straight lines 310a-310e. The inclination of the straight lines 310a-310e calculated by the calculation unit 34 is one of the index values ​​indicating the degree of inclination of the peak portion 61a.

[0023] The evaluation unit 36 ​​evaluates the fleshiness of the cattle depicted in the captured image 50 from the maximum slope, minimum slope, or average slope of the straight lines 310a to 310e calculated by the calculation unit 34. As the fleshiness, for example, the body condition score is evaluated.

[0024] Here, a description will be given of the relationship between the maximum slope, minimum slope, or average slope of the lines 310a-310e calculated by calculation unit 34 and the body condition score. The body condition score is an index showing the state of body fat deposition, and may be given a score of, for example, 1.00 to 5.00, with a higher value indicating better fleshiness.

[0025] 6(a) to 6(c) are images 50 of cows with different levels of meatiness. FIG. 6(a) is an image 50 of a cow with poor meatiness, FIG. 6(b) is an image 50 of a cow that is meatier than the cow in FIG. 6(a), and FIG. 6(c) is an image 50 of a cow that is even meatier. The cow in FIG. 6(a) was given a body condition score of 2.25 by an expert. The cow in FIG. 6(b) was given a score of 3.00, and the cow in FIG. 6(c) was given a score of 4.00. As shown in FIG. 6(a) to FIG. 6(c), it can be seen that the meatiness around the hip angle changes due to differences in meatiness (i.e., different body condition scores), and the shape of the hip angle when the cow is viewed from directly behind in a standing position is different.

[0026] Figures 7(a) and 7(b) are diagrams showing the relationship between the fleshiness of a cow and the gradient of a number of straight lines 310a-310e calculated by calculation unit 34. Figure 7(b) shows a contour line 60 of a cow that is fleshier than the cow in Figure 7(a). As shown in Figures 7(a) and 7(b), the gradient of the straight lines 310a-310e varies depending on the fleshiness of the cow. From this, it is considered that the fleshiness of a cow can be evaluated by determining the gradient of the straight lines 310a-310e.

[0027] [experiment] An experiment was conducted to investigate the correlation between the body condition score evaluated by a veterinarian or other expert and the maximum slope, minimum slope, and average slope of the straight lines 310a to 310e calculated by the calculation unit 34. The experiment was conducted on dairy cows (Holstein breed).

[0028] FIG. 8 shows the results of an experiment investigating the correlation between the body condition score and the maximum slope, minimum slope, and average slope of the multiple straight lines 310a to 310e calculated by the calculation unit 34. The horizontal axis (x-axis) of FIG. 8 is the body condition score evaluated by an expert, and the vertical axis is the slope calculated by the calculation unit 34. The multiple black circles in FIG. 8 show the results for each dairy cow when the maximum slope of the straight lines 310a to 310e is used, and the dotted straight line shows the approximation straight line (regression line) at that time. The multiple black squares show the results for each dairy cow when the minimum slope of the straight lines 310a to 310e is used, and the dashed straight line shows the approximation straight line (regression line) at that time. The multiple black triangles show the results for each dairy cow when the average slope of the straight lines 310a to 310e is used, and the dashed straight line shows the approximation straight line (regression line) at that time. 8, regardless of whether the maximum slope, minimum slope, or average slope of the lines 310a to 310e is used, the body condition score decreases as the negative value of the slope increases, and the body condition score increases as the positive value of the slope increases. The approximate dotted line using the maximum slope was found to be y = 0.2084x - 0.4895, and the coefficient of determination R 2 was 0.6317. The approximate line of the dashed line using the minimum slope was found to be y = 0.2528x - 1.0665, and the coefficient of determination R 2 was 0.8772. The approximate dashed line using the average slope was calculated as y = 0.2203x-0.7692, and the coefficient of determination R 2 was 0.8996. This confirmed that there is a strong correlation between the body condition score and the gradients of the lines 310a to 310e calculated by the calculation unit .

[0029] As described above, since there is a strong correlation between the body condition score and the slopes of lines 310a-310e calculated by calculation unit 34, it can be seen that evaluation unit 36 ​​can accurately evaluate the fleshiness of the cow by evaluating the maximum slope, minimum slope, or average slope of lines 310a-310e. Evaluation unit 36 ​​evaluates the body condition score using, for example, score information stored in memory unit 20 that associates the slopes with the body condition score.

[0030] Table 1 shows an example of score information stored in the storage unit 20. As shown in Table 1, in the score information, the slope and the body condition score are associated with each other. For example, when the slope is less than -a, the body condition score is 1.00, when the slope is -a or more and less than -b, the body condition score is 1.50, when the slope is -d or more and less than +e, the body condition score is 3.00, and so on. In Table 1, the body condition score is in increments of 0.5, but other cases are also possible. For example, the body condition score may be in increments of 0.25, or between 2.00 and 4.00, the increments may be 0.25, and the rest may be in increments of 0.50. Separate tables are used for the maximum slope, the minimum slope, and the average slope. [Table 1]

[0031] The score information stored in storage unit 20 may be other than the score information shown in Table 1, as long as it is information that associates the slope with the body condition score. For example, a linear function (y=ax+b) such as the approximated straight line shown in Fig. 8 may be stored in storage unit 20 as score information. In this case, the body condition score may be evaluated by performing fractional processing such as rounding off, rounding up, or rounding down on the value of x obtained by substituting the slope for y.

[0032] Fig. 9 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the cattle evaluation device 100 according to the first embodiment. As shown in Fig. 9, the cattle evaluation device 100 has a storage device 70, a memory 71, a processor 72, a communication interface 73, an input device 74, a display device 75, and an imaging device 76. These components are connected to each other by a bus 77.

[0033] The storage device 70 is a non-volatile semiconductor memory such as a flash memory, and stores a cow evaluation program 78 .

[0034] The memory 71 is hardware that temporarily stores data, such as a dynamic random access memory (DRAM), etc. The storage unit 20 in FIG.

[0035] The processor 72 is hardware such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) that controls each part of the cow evaluation device 100. The processor 72 executes a cow evaluation program 78 in cooperation with the memory 71. In this way, the memory 71 and the processor 72 cooperate to execute the cow evaluation program 78, thereby realizing each function of the control unit 22 in Fig. 2.

[0036] The communication interface 73 is hardware for enabling the cow evaluation device 100 to perform short-range wireless communication or wireless communication via a network with other devices. The communication interface 73 realizes the communication unit 16 in FIG.

[0037] The input device 74 is an input device such as a touch panel or a switch that enables an operator to operate the cattle evaluation device 100. The input device 74 realizes the operation unit 14 in FIG.

[0038] The display device 75 is hardware for realizing the display unit 12 in FIG. 1, and is a display device such as a liquid crystal display for displaying the captured image 50 of the cow, the extracted image 51, the evaluation results of the beefiness of the cow, etc.

[0039] The imaging device 76 is hardware for realizing the imaging unit 18 in FIG. 1, and includes a lens, an imaging element, and the like.

[0040] Next, an example of the method for evaluating beef meatiness in the first embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart in Fig. 10. The process in Fig. 10 is executed by the control unit 22 of the evaluation device 100. It is assumed that the storage unit 20 stores score information such as that shown in Table 1, for example.

[0041] 10, first, in step S10, the image acquisition section 30 of the control section 22 waits until the start of the cow evaluation program 78. In this case, the process proceeds to step S12 when the control section 22 starts the cow evaluation program 78 in response to an operation by an operator (for example, an input operation to the operation section 14 or a voice input to a microphone (not shown)).

[0042] When the process proceeds to step S12, the image acquisition unit 30 acquires an image 50 of the cow to be evaluated for meatiness (see FIG. 3). The image 50 of the cow is an image of the cow in an upright position captured from almost directly behind. The image acquisition unit 30 acquires, for example, an image of the cow captured by the operator using the imaging unit 18. The image acquisition unit 30 may acquire an image of the cow received from another device via the communication unit 16, or an image of the cow selected by the operator by operating the operation unit 14 from among a plurality of images of the cow stored in the storage unit 20. The image acquisition unit 30 may start a camera function so that the operator can capture an image of the cow using the imaging unit 18 after the cow evaluation program 78 is started. When the operator captures an image of the cow using the imaging unit 18, the image of the captured cow and a selection button asking whether or not to select this captured image may be displayed on the display unit 12, and if the operator chooses not to select the image, the camera function may be started again.

[0043] In step S14, the extraction unit 32 of the control unit 22 extracts a contour line 60 that traces the outline of the cow from the captured image 50 of the cow acquired in step S12 (see FIG. 4). This generates an extracted image 51 showing the cow's contour line 60. When extracting the contour line 60, the extraction unit 32 may perform a process of removing background other than the cow in the captured image 50 in order to extract the contour line 60 with good accuracy.

[0044] Next, in step S16, the determination unit 38 of the control unit 22 specifies a reference dimension related to the size of the cow's body in the width direction from the contour line 60, and specifies a reference range 306 between a straight line 330 that is a first distance away from the leftmost point 302 of the contour line 60, which corresponds to a first ratio of the reference dimension, and a straight line 332 that is a second distance away from the leftmost point 302 of the contour line 60, which corresponds to a second ratio of the reference dimension (see FIG. 5). Then, the determination unit 38 specifies a plurality of straight lines 310a to 310e from a plurality of points 307 on a continuous portion of the contour line 60 that is located within the reference range 306 (see FIG. 5). In this first embodiment, the determination unit 38 specifies the distance W between a vertical line 304 passing through the leftmost point 302 of the contour line 60 and a vertical line 305 passing through the rightmost point 303 of the contour line 60 as the reference dimension related to the size of the cow's body in the width direction. Then, the determination unit 38 identifies a reference range 306 sandwiched between a straight line 330 that is 0.2W away from the leftmost point 302 of the contour 60 and a straight line 332 that is 0.3W away from the leftmost point 302 of the contour 60, and determines a number of straight lines 310a to 310e that pass through pairs of two adjacent points among a number of points 307 on a continuous portion of the contour 60 that is located within the reference range 306 (see FIG. 5).

[0045] Next, in step S18, the calculation unit 34 of the control unit 22 calculates the maximum slope, the minimum slope, or the average slope of the multiple straight lines 310a to 310e determined in step S16.

[0046] Next, in step S20, the evaluation unit 36 ​​of the control unit 22 evaluates the body condition score of the cow depicted in the captured image 50 based on the maximum slope, minimum slope, or average slope of the straight lines 310a to 310e calculated in step S18 and score information such as Table 1 stored in the memory unit 20.

[0047] Next, in step S22, the evaluation unit 36 ​​displays the body condition score evaluated in step S20 on the display unit 12 and stores it in the memory unit 20. For example, the evaluation unit 36 ​​may display the body condition score on the display unit 12 together with the captured image 50 of the cow. The evaluation unit 36 ​​may also store in the memory unit 20 individual identification information, such as the individual identification number of the cow, input by the worker operating the operation unit 14, in association with the evaluated body condition score. Note that the evaluation unit 36 ​​is not limited to acquiring individual identification information input by the worker operating the operation unit 14, but may also acquire individual identification information from an image captured by the imaging unit 18 of an image of an identification tag attached to the body of the cow, or may acquire individual identification information by using RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) technology and having the communication unit 16 receive the individual identification information from an RF tag attached to the body of the cow. Alternatively, cameras and communication devices may be installed in the passages inside and outside the cowshed so that the cows passing through the passages can be detected by sensors, and images of the cows passing through the passages captured by the cameras may be acquired by the communication unit 16, and the individual identification information may be acquired from the images of the identification tags captured in the images. Alternatively, the communication device may receive the individual identification information from RF tags attached to the cows passing through the passages, and the communication unit 16 may receive the individual identification information from the communication device. Furthermore, the evaluation unit 36 ​​may store in the memory unit 20 the individual identification number of the cow whose body condition score has been evaluated, the image 50 of the cow, the image date, and the body condition score of the cow as a single piece of associated information.

[0048] [Variations] In the above first embodiment, the determination unit 38 determines a plurality of straight lines 310a to 310e, but a single straight line may be determined. Fig. 11 is a diagram for explaining the process executed by the determination unit 38 and the calculation unit 34 in the modified example of the first embodiment. As shown in Fig. 11, the determination unit 38 specifies the reference range 306 by the same method as that described in Fig. 5. Then, the determination unit 38 specifies points 307 on the contour line 60 at both ends of the reference range 306, and determines the straight line 310 passing through the two points 307.

[0049] Calculation unit 34 calculates the slope of straight line 310 determined by determination unit 38. Evaluation unit 36 ​​evaluates the fleshiness of the cow from the slope calculated by calculation unit 34.

[0050] [experiment] An experiment was conducted to investigate the correlation between the body condition score evaluated by a veterinarian or other expert and the gradient of the straight line 310 calculated by the calculation unit 34. The experiment was conducted on dairy cows (Holstein breed).

[0051] FIG. 12 shows the results of an experiment investigating the correlation between the body condition score and the slope of straight line 310 calculated by calculation unit 34. The horizontal axis (x-axis) of FIG. 12 is the body condition score evaluated by an expert, and the vertical axis is the slope calculated by calculation unit 34. The multiple black circles in FIG. 12 indicate the results of each dairy cow in the experiment, and the dotted straight line indicates an approximation line (regression line). As shown in FIG. 12, even when the slope of straight line 310 passing through two points 307 on contour line 60 at both ends of reference range 306 is used, the body condition score decreases as the negative value of the slope increases, and the body condition score increases as the positive value of the slope increases. The approximation line was found to be y=0.2223x-0.7697, and the coefficient of determination R 2 was 0.8844. This shows that the beefiness of a cow can be evaluated with high accuracy even when the beefiness is evaluated from the slope of the straight line 310 passing through the two points 307 on the contour line 60 at both ends of the reference range 306.

[0052] As described above, according to the first embodiment and its modified examples, the image acquisition unit 30 acquires a two-dimensional captured image 50 in which a cow in a standing position is captured from almost directly behind (see FIG. 3). The extraction unit 32 extracts a contour line 60 of the cow from the captured image 50 (see FIG. 4). The determination unit 38 specifies the distance W between a vertical line 304 passing through a leftmost point 302 of the contour line 60 and a vertical line 305 passing through a rightmost point 303 of the contour line 60 as a reference dimension indicating the size of the cow's body in the lateral width direction from the contour line 60 (see FIG. 5). Then, the determination unit 38 specifies a reference range 306 between a straight line 330 located inside the contour line 60 from the leftmost point 302 on the contour line 60 at a first distance corresponding to 20% (first ratio) of the reference dimension W, and a straight line 332 located inside the contour line 60 at a second distance corresponding to 30% (second ratio), and determines one or more straight lines 310 or 310a to 310e from multiple points 307 on a continuous portion of the contour line 60 located within the reference range 306 (see Figs. 5 and 11). The calculation unit 34 calculates the slope of the straight line 310 or 310a to 310e determined by the determination unit 38, or an average slope obtained from each slope. The evaluation unit 36 ​​evaluates the fleshiness of the cow captured in the captured image 50 from the slope calculated by the calculation unit 34 or the average slope obtained from the slopes. In this way, in the first embodiment and its modified examples, the beefiness of the cow is evaluated using the two-dimensional captured image 50 obtained by capturing an image of the cow in an upright position from approximately behind, and therefore, no special equipment for capturing an image of the cow in three dimensions or for capturing an image of the cow from above is required, and the present invention can be applied to various breeding sites. Furthermore, even if the cow is captured large or small in the captured image 50, which is a two-dimensional image, the inclination of the line does not change, so that the beefiness of the cow can be evaluated well by evaluating the beefiness of the cow from the inclination of the line without performing processing such as normalization. Furthermore, when a person evaluates the beefiness of the cow, the judgment criteria become ambiguous and the judgment varies, but in the first embodiment and its modified examples, the control unit 22 judges the beefiness of the cow, so that the judgment variation can be suppressed. Furthermore, since the beefiness of the cow is evaluated using the two-dimensional captured image 50 obtained by capturing an image of the cow in an upright position from approximately directly behind, the evaluation device 100, which is highly portable and highly versatile, such as a smartphone, can be used.

[0053] In the first embodiment and its modified examples, as shown in Fig. 5 and Fig. 11, the determination unit 38 specifies the distance W between a vertical line 304 passing through the leftmost point 302 of the contour line 60 and a vertical line 305 passing through the rightmost point 303 of the contour line 60 as a reference dimension in the width direction of the body of the cow. A reference range 306 is specified using such reference dimension W, and the slope of a straight line 310 or 310a to 310e determined from a plurality of points 307 on the contour line 60 within the specified reference range 306 has a high correlation with the body condition score, as shown in Fig. 8 and Fig. 12. Therefore, by using such reference dimension W, the fleshiness of the cow can be evaluated with high accuracy.

[0054] In a modification of the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 11, the determination unit 38 determines a straight line 310 passing through two points 307 on the contour line 60 at both ends of the reference range 306. The determination of the straight line 310 can be performed by simpler processing than the determination of the multiple straight lines 310a-310e, and the slope of the straight line 310 can be calculated by simpler processing than the calculation of the slopes of the straight lines 310a-310e. Even when the slope of the straight line 310 is used, there is a high correlation with the body condition score, as shown in FIG. 12. Therefore, the fleshiness of the cattle can be evaluated accurately by simple processing.

[0055] In the first embodiment, when the determination unit 38 determines the multiple straight lines 310a to 310e, it is preferable that the calculation unit 34 calculates the average slope of the multiple straight lines 310a to 310e. As described in FIG. 8, the average slope is calculated based on the coefficient of determination R 2 Therefore, by the evaluation unit 36 ​​evaluating the body condition score from the average slope, the meatiness of the cattle can be evaluated with high accuracy.

[0056] [Reference range 306] In the above first embodiment and its modified examples, a case has been shown in which the range sandwiched between a straight line 330 that is a first distance away from the leftmost point 302 of the contour line 60 inside the contour line 60, which corresponds to 20% (first ratio) of the reference dimension W, and a straight line 332 that is a second distance away from the leftmost point 302 of the contour line 60, which corresponds to 30% (second ratio) of the reference dimension W, is set as the reference range 306. Here, a description will be given of how far the range from the leftmost point 302 of the contour line 60 should preferably be set as the reference range 306.

[0057] [experiment] In defining a reference range 306 as a range from the leftmost point 302 of the contour line 60 to the inside of the contour line 60 at a distance of at least a first percentage and at most a second percentage of the reference dimension W, a plurality of reference ranges 306 were specified by varying the first percentage and the second percentage to various values. Then, as in the case of Figs. 8 and 12, a correlation was found between the body condition score evaluated by a veterinarian or other expert and a slope passing through two of the plurality of points 307 on the contour line 60 in each of the plurality of reference ranges 306, and a coefficient of determination R was calculated from an approximation line showing the correlation. 2 was calculated.

[0058] Tables 2 and 3 show the coefficient of determination R obtained from the approximation line showing the correlation between the body condition score and the slope of the line in each of a plurality of reference ranges 306 with different distances from the leftmost point 302 of the contour line 60. 2 The reference range 306 and the coefficient of determination R 2 is calculated from an approximation line showing the correlation between the slope of a line passing through two points on the contour line 60 at both ends of the reference range 306 and the body condition score. 2 is obtained from an approximation line showing the correlation between the body condition score and the average slope of a plurality of lines passing through two adjacent points out of a plurality of points 307 on contour line 60 located at intervals of 0.05W within reference range 306. Table 3 is obtained from an approximation line showing the correlation between the body condition score and the average slope of a plurality of lines passing through two adjacent points out of a plurality of points 307 on contour line 60 located at intervals of 0.02W within reference range 306.

[0059] As shown in Tables 2 and 3, when the reference ranges were 0.2W~0.3W, 0.2W~0.35W, 0.2W~0.4W, 0.16W~0.34W, 0.18W~0.32W, 0.22W~0.3W, and 0.22W~0.28W, the coefficient of determination R 2 From this, in the case where the range from the leftmost point 302 of the contour line 60 to the reference range 306 is the range between the first ratio and the second ratio of the reference dimension W, a large coefficient of determination R can be obtained by setting the first ratio to a value of 16% or more and the second ratio to a value of 40% or less. 2 It can be seen that the following can be obtained.

[0060] [Table 2] [Table 3]

[0061] Therefore, when the determining unit 38 specifies the reference range 306 between a straight line 330 that is a first distance away from the leftmost point 302 of the contour line 60 inside the contour line 60, which corresponds to a first ratio of the reference dimension W, and a straight line 332 that is a second distance away from the leftmost point 302 of the contour line 60, which corresponds to a second ratio of the reference dimension W, it is preferable to use a value of 16% or more and a value of 40% or less as the first ratio. This allows the beefiness of the cow to be evaluated with high accuracy. From the viewpoint of evaluating the beefiness of the cow with high accuracy, it is preferable to use a value of 16% or more and 24% or less as the first ratio, more preferably a value of 18% or more and 22% or less, and even more preferably a value of 19% or more and 21% or less. It is preferable to use a value of 28% or more and 40% or less as the second ratio, more preferably a value of 30% or more and 38% or less, and even more preferably a value of 34% or more and 36% or less. Moreover, the width of the reference range 306 in the horizontal direction (the cow's width direction) within the extracted image 51 is preferably 0.05W or more, more preferably 0.08W or more, and even more preferably 0.1W or more.

[0062] In the above-mentioned first embodiment and its modified example, the determination unit 38 specifies the range between the straight line 330, which is a first distance away from the leftmost point 302 of the contour line 60 inside the contour line 60, corresponding to the first ratio of the reference dimension W, and the straight line 332, which is a second distance away from the leftmost point 302 of the contour line 60, corresponding to the second ratio of the reference dimension W, as the reference range 306. However, the present invention is not limited to this case, and the determination unit 38 may specify the range between the straight line, which is a first distance away from the rightmost point 303 of the contour line 60 inside the contour line 60, corresponding to the first ratio of the reference dimension W, and the straight line, which is a second distance away from the rightmost point 303 of the contour line 60, corresponding to the second ratio of the reference dimension W, as the reference range 306. Even in this case, it is preferable to use the above-mentioned values ​​for the first ratio and the second ratio. When the rightmost point 303 is used to specify the reference range 306, the relationship between the positive / negative slope of the straight line passing through the multiple points 307 on the contour line 60 within the reference range 306 and the body condition score is opposite to that when the leftmost point 302 is used to specify the reference range 306. That is, the more positive the slope of the line, the lower the body condition score, and the more negative the slope, the higher the body condition score.

[0063] In the first embodiment, the calculation unit 34 may calculate the median value of the slopes of the multiple straight lines 310a to 310e that pass through the multiple points 307 on the contour line 60 within the reference range 306.

[0064] In the first embodiment, the determination unit 38 may determine a straight line passing through a set of two points (two points every other) located on both sides of one of the multiple points 307 on the contour line 60 within the reference range 306, or a straight line passing through a set of two points (two points every other) located on both sides of two points. The determination unit 38 may also determine an approximation straight line (regression line) obtained from the multiple points 307 by the least squares method.

[0065] In the first embodiment, the evaluation unit 36 ​​may evaluate the fleshiness of the cow based on the maximum, minimum, or average value of a plurality of body condition scores obtained from the gradients of the respective straight lines 310a-310e passing through a plurality of points 307 on the contour line 60 within the reference range 306. The evaluation unit 36 ​​may also evaluate the fleshiness of the cow based on the average value of the body condition score obtained from the gradients of one or more straight lines determined in the reference range 306 obtained from the leftmost point 302 and the body condition score obtained from the gradients of one or more straight lines determined in the reference range 306 obtained from the rightmost point 303.

[0066] Second Embodiment In the above first embodiment and its modified example, a case has been shown in which the determination unit 38 determines a range sandwiched between a straight line separated from the leftmost point 302 or the rightmost point 303 of the contour 60 by a first distance corresponding to a first proportion of the reference dimension inside the contour 60 and a straight line separated by a second distance corresponding to a second proportion of the reference dimension as the reference range 306. In the present second embodiment, a case will be described in which the determination unit 38 determines a range sandwiched between a straight line separated from the uppermost point 91 on the uppermost side of the contour 60 by a first distance corresponding to the first proportion of the reference dimension inside the contour 60 and a straight line separated by a second distance corresponding to the second proportion of the reference dimension as the reference range 306a.

[0067] FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining the process executed by the determination unit 38 and the calculation unit 34 in the second embodiment. As shown in FIG. 13, the determination unit 38, like the first embodiment, specifies the distance W between the vertical line 304 passing through the leftmost point 302 of the contour line 60 and the vertical line 305 passing through the rightmost point 303 of the contour line 60 as the reference dimension. Next, the determination unit 38 specifies the range sandwiched between a straight line 330a that is separated from the top point 91 of the contour line 60 by a first distance (0.2W) corresponding to 20% (first ratio) of the reference dimension W inside the contour line 60 and is substantially perpendicular to the separated direction, and a straight line 332a that is separated by a second distance (0.3W) corresponding to 30% (second ratio) of the reference dimension W and is substantially perpendicular to the separated direction, as the reference range 306a. That is, it can be said that the reference range 306a is a range that is separated from the horizontal line passing through the top point 91 by 0.2W or more and 0.3W or less. The topmost point 91 can be determined, for example, by moving a horizontal line in extracted image 51 closer to contour line 60 from above, and identifying the point where the horizontal line first touches contour line 60 as the topmost point 91. Alternatively, the topmost point 91 may be determined by other methods, for example by converting extracted image 51 into an XY coordinate system and identifying the topmost point 91 from the X and Y coordinates of each pixel of extracted image 51, or by identifying the point on contour line 60 that is the closest to the upper edge of extracted image 51.

[0068] Next, the determination unit 38 identifies a plurality of points 307a on a continuous portion of the contour 60 located within the reference range 306a, and determines a plurality of straight lines 312a, 312b passing through two of the plurality of points 307a. In the present second embodiment, a plurality of points 307a located within the reference range 306a in the left portion of the contour 60 are identified. The plurality of points 307a are two points where the straight lines 330a, 332a intersect with the contour 60, and one point where the contour 60 intersects with one horizontal line that divides the reference range 306a in two equal parts in the vertical direction. In the present second embodiment, the plurality of straight lines 312a, 312b are two straight lines 312a, 312b passing through two pairs of adjacent points obtained from the three points 307a.

[0069] The calculation unit 34 calculates the inclination of the straight lines 312a and 312b determined by the determination unit 38. In the second embodiment, the extraction image 51 is rotated 90° clockwise (i.e., the top point 91 of the contour line 60 is positioned on the right side), and the inclination of the straight lines 312a and 312b with respect to a horizontal line extending in the horizontal direction (left-right direction) in the rotational extraction image 51 is calculated. In the second embodiment, the inclination of the straight line is positive when it extends from the lower right to the upper left in the rotational extraction image 51, and negative when it extends from the lower left to the upper right. The calculation unit 34 calculates the maximum inclination, minimum inclination, or average inclination from the inclination of the straight lines 312a and 312b, but in the second embodiment, the average inclination is calculated. The inclination of the straight lines 312a and 312b calculated by the calculation unit 34 is one of the index values ​​indicating the degree of inclination of the mountain portion 61a.

[0070] The evaluation unit 36 ​​evaluates the fleshiness of the cattle depicted in the captured image 50 from the average slope of the straight lines 312a, 310b calculated by the calculation unit 34. As the fleshiness, for example, the body condition score is evaluated.

[0071] [experiment] An experiment was conducted to investigate the correlation between the body condition score evaluated by a veterinarian or other expert and the average slope of the multiple straight lines 312a, 312b calculated by the calculation unit 34. The experiment was conducted on dairy cows (Holstein breed).

[0072] FIG. 14 shows the results of an experiment investigating the correlation between the body condition score and the average slope of the multiple straight lines 312a, 312b calculated by the calculation unit 34. The horizontal axis (x-axis) of FIG. 14 is the body condition score evaluated by an expert, and the vertical axis is the average slope calculated by the calculation unit 34. The multiple black circles in FIG. 14 indicate the results of each dairy cow in the experiment, and the dotted straight line indicates an approximation line (regression line). As shown in FIG. 14, even if the range from the top point 91 of the contour line 60 to the inside of the contour line 60, which is 20% to 30% of the reference dimension W, is specified as the reference range 306a, the body condition score changes depending on the slope. The larger the negative value of the slope, the lower the body condition score, and the larger the positive value of the slope, the higher the body condition score. The approximation line was found to be y=0.1868x-0.5657, and the coefficient of determination R 2 was 0.6210. This shows that the beef meatiness can be evaluated with high accuracy even when the range from the uppermost point 91 of the contour line 60 to the inside of the contour line 60, which is 20% to 30% of the reference dimension W, is specified as the reference range 306a.

[0073] [Reference range 306a] In the above second embodiment, the reference range 306a is defined as a range from the uppermost point 91 of the contour line 60 to the inside of the contour line 60, the range being 20% ​​to 30% of the reference dimension W. Here, a description will be given of how far the reference range 306a should be defined as being from the uppermost point 91 of the contour line 60.

[0074] [experiment] In defining the range 306a as the range from the top point 91 of the contour line 60 to the inside of the contour line 60 at a distance of at least a first percentage and at most a second percentage of the reference dimension W, multiple reference ranges 306a were specified by varying the first percentage and the second percentage to various values. Then, as in FIG. 14, a correlation was found between the body condition score evaluated by a veterinarian or other expert and the slope of a line passing through two of the multiple points 307a on the contour line 60 in each of the multiple reference ranges 306a, and a coefficient of determination R was calculated from the approximation line indicating the correlation. 2 was calculated.

[0075] Table 4 shows the coefficient of determination R obtained from the approximation line showing the correlation between the body condition score and the slope of the line in each of a plurality of reference ranges 306a with different distances from the top point 91 of the contour line 60. 2 The reference range 306a and the coefficient of determination R 2 is calculated from an approximation line showing the correlation between the slope of a line passing through two points on the contour line 60 at both ends of the reference range 306a and the body condition score. 2 is obtained from an approximation line showing the correlation between the average slope of multiple straight lines passing through two adjacent points among multiple points 307 on the contour line 60 located at intervals of 0.05W within the reference range 306a and the body condition score. [Table 4]

[0076] As shown in Table 4, when the reference range 306a is set to 0.2W to 0.3W and 0.15W to 0.35W, the coefficient of determination R 2 From this, when the range away from the uppermost point 91 of the contour line 60 by the first ratio or more and the second ratio or less of the reference dimension W is set as the reference range 306a, a large coefficient of determination R can be obtained by setting the first ratio to a value of 15% or more and the second ratio to a value of 35% or less. 2 It can be seen that the following can be obtained.

[0077] Therefore, when the determining unit 38 specifies the reference range 306a between the straight line 330a that is separated from the top point 91 of the contour line 60 by a first distance corresponding to the first ratio of the reference dimension W inside the contour line 60 and the straight line 332a that is separated by a second distance corresponding to the second ratio of the reference dimension W, it is preferable to use a value of 15% or more as the first ratio and a value of 35% or less as the second ratio. This allows the beefiness of the cow to be evaluated with high accuracy. In order to evaluate the beefiness of the cow with high accuracy, it is preferable to use a value of 15% or more and 25% or less as the first ratio, more preferably a value of 17% or more and 23% or less, and even more preferably a value of 19% or more and 21% or less. It is preferable to use a value of 25% or more and 35% or less as the second ratio, more preferably a value of 27% or more and 33% or less, and even more preferably a value of 29% or more and 31% or less. Moreover, the width of the reference range 306a in the vertical direction (the cow's body height direction) within the extracted image 51 is preferably 0.05W or more, more preferably 0.08W or more, and even more preferably 0.1W or more.

[0078] 13, a case has been described in which a plurality of straight lines 312a, 312b are determined from a plurality of points 307a within reference range 306a on the left side of contour 60, but a straight line may also be determined from a plurality of points within reference range 306a on the right side of contour 60. When the right side of contour 60 is used, the relationship between the positive / negative slope of the line passing through a plurality of points on contour 60 within reference range 306a and the body condition score is opposite to that when the left side of contour 60 is used. In other words, the more positive the slope of the line, the lower the body condition score, and the more negative the slope, the higher the body condition score.

[0079] In addition, the evaluation unit 36 ​​may combine the first and second embodiments described above, and evaluate the fleshiness of the cow based on the average value of either or both of the body condition score obtained from the slope of one or more straight lines determined in the reference range 306 determined from the leftmost point 302 and the body condition score obtained from the slope of one or more straight lines determined in the reference range 306 determined from the rightmost point 303, and the body condition score obtained from one or more straight lines determined in the reference range 306a determined from the topmost point 91.

[0080] In the first and second embodiments, the determination unit 38 may specify the distance between the vertices 62a, 62b of the ridges 61a, 61b as the reference dimension indicating the widthwise size of the cow's body, or may specify the distance between the uppermost points of the ridges 61a, 61b.

[0081] The apex 62a of the mountain 61a and the apex 62b of the mountain 61b can be specified by the following method. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, an inclined straight line 55 inclined from the top to the bottom left in the extracted image 51 is moved from the top left end point 52 of the extracted image 51 toward the contour line 60, and the point where the inclined straight line 55 first touches the contour line 60 can be specified as the apex 62a of the mountain 61a located on the left side. Similarly, an inclined straight line 56 inclined from the top to the bottom right in the extracted image 51 is moved from the top right end point 54 of the extracted image 51 toward the contour line 60, and the point where the inclined straight line 56 first touches the contour line 60 can be specified as the apex 62b of the mountain 61b located on the right side. The inclined straight lines 55 and 56 are preferably inclined at 30° to 60° from the horizontal line in the extracted image 51, more preferably at 40° to 50°, and even more preferably at 45°.

[0082] The apex 62a of the mountain portion 61a and the apex 62b of the mountain portion 61b may be specified by other methods without being limited to the above-mentioned method. For example, as shown in Fig. 5, an inclined straight line 55a inclined from the top to the bottom left in the extracted image 51 at a first predetermined angle may be moved from the upper left end point 52 toward the contour line 60 to specify a first point where the inclined straight line 55b inclined at a second predetermined angle is moved from the upper left end point 52 toward the contour line 60 to specify a second point where the inclined straight line 55b ... point on the contour line 60 that is approximately in the middle between the first point and the second point as the apex 62a of the mountain portion 61a. Similarly, an inclined straight line 56a inclined at a third predetermined angle from top to bottom right in the extracted image 51 may be moved from the upper right end point 54 toward the contour line 60 to identify a third point where the straight line 56a first touches the contour line 60, and an inclined straight line 56b inclined at a fourth predetermined angle may be moved from the upper right end point 54 toward the contour line 60 to identify a fourth point where the straight line 56b first touches the contour line 60, and a point located approximately in the middle between the third point and the fourth point on the contour line 60 may be identified as the apex 62b of the mountain portion 61b. The first and third predetermined angles are preferably set to 15° to 30° from the horizontal line in the extracted image 51, and the second and fourth predetermined angles are preferably set to 60° to 75° from the horizontal line in the extracted image 51.

[0083] Also, for example, the extracted image 51 may be converted into an XY coordinate system, and the vertices 62a, 62b of the two peaks 61a, 61b may be identified from the X and Y coordinates of each pixel of the extracted image 51. For example, the point on the contour 60 that is the shortest distance from the upper left end point 52 of the extracted image 51 may be set as the vertex 62a of the peak 61a, and the point on the contour 60 that is the shortest distance from the upper right end point 54 of the extracted image 51 may be set as the vertex 62b of the peak 61b.

[0084] Alternatively, the apex of either the mountain portion 61a or the mountain portion 61b may be specified by any of the above methods, and the point where the horizontal line in the extracted image 51 passing through the specified apex intersects with the contour line 60 of the other mountain portion may be specified as the apex of the other mountain portion. Note that the apex 62a of the mountain portion 61a and the apex 62b of the mountain portion 61b may be specified by a method other than the above methods. Note that the ranges of the mountain portions 61a and 61b can be specified by various methods. For example, the range of the mountain portion 61a can be the range of the contour line 60 contained in a circle having a predetermined radius centered on the apex 62a of the mountain portion 61a. The predetermined radius can be, for example, a value obtained by multiplying the distance between the apex 62a of the mountain portion 61a and the uppermost point 91 located at the uppermost side of the contour line 60 by a predetermined value (for example, 0.5), but may be a value obtained by other methods. Note that the range of the mountain portion 61a may be a range of a predetermined length on both sides from the apex 62a of the mountain portion 61a. The predetermined length may be, for example, the length of the predetermined radius, or may be a length obtained by multiplying the entire length of the contour line 60 by a predetermined value. The same applies to the peak portion 61b. The range of the peak portions 61a and 61b may be determined by machine learning or the like.

[0085] In the above first and second embodiments, the image acquisition unit 30 acquires an image of a cow in a standing position from approximately directly behind, but may also acquire an image of a cow in a standing position from approximately the front. Fig. 15(a) is an image 50 of a cow in a standing position from approximately directly behind, and Fig. 15(b) is an image 50a of the cow in Fig. 15(a) from approximately the front. As shown in Fig. 15(a), the image is not limited to an image of a cow in a standing position from approximately directly behind, but even if an image of a cow in a standing position is captured from approximately the front, as shown in Fig. 15(b), the image of the cow can be captured so that the contours around the left and right hip angles of the cow are visible.

[0086] FIG. 16(a) and FIG. 16(b) are extracted images 51 in which the contour line 60 of the cow is extracted from the captured images 50 and 50a of FIG. 15(a) and FIG. 15(b). As shown in FIG. 16(a), even when the image of the cow in a standing position is taken from almost directly behind, as shown in FIG. 16(b), even when the image of the cow in a standing position is taken from almost directly in front, the ridges 61a and 61b corresponding to the waist angle can be present on both the left and right sides of the upper part of the contour line 60. Therefore, even when the captured image 50a in which the cow in a standing position is taken from almost directly in front is used, the beefiness of the cow can be evaluated by the same method as when the captured image 50 taken from almost directly behind is used. In addition, even when the two-dimensional captured image 50a in which the cow in a standing position is taken from almost directly in front is used, as in the case of using the captured image 50 taken from almost directly behind, no special equipment is required to take an image of the cow from above, and the image can be applied to various breeding sites, and a portable information device such as a smartphone, which is highly portable and versatile, can be used as the evaluation device.

[0087] In the above embodiments, the evaluation device for evaluating the beefiness of cattle is a portable information device equipped with an image capturing unit 18 that is carried by an operator. However, other cases are also possible. For example, a stationary information device such as a server that can communicate with other devices connected to a network may be used. In this case, the operator transmits an image of the cattle taken using a portable information device such as a smartphone to a stationary information device such as a server via the network. The stationary information device performs the same process as the evaluation device 100 to evaluate the beefiness of the cattle. The stationary information device then transmits the evaluation result of the beefiness of the cattle to a portable information device carried by the operator via the network. This reduces the load on the smartphone. Also, a camera may be installed in the cattle shed so as to be fixed or movable, and the portable information device such as a smartphone and the stationary information device such as a server may acquire an image of the cattle standing upright, captured by the camera installed in the cattle shed, from approximately directly behind or approximately directly in front of the cattle.

[0088] In the above first and second embodiments, the body condition score is evaluated as the fatness of the cow, but other indices for evaluating the fatness of the cow may be evaluated. In addition, each experiment was performed on dairy cows, but it is considered that beef cows having a similar skeletal structure would have similar results. Therefore, each of the above embodiments can be applied not only to dairy cows but also to beef cows.

[0089] Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail above, the present invention is not limited to such specific embodiment, and various modifications and variations are possible within the scope of the gist of the present invention described in the claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0090] 12 Display section 14 Control section 16 Communications Department 18 Imaging section 20 Memory section 22 Control section 30 Image acquisition unit 32 Extraction part 34 Calculation section 36 Evaluation Section 38 Decision Section 50, 50a Image capture 51 Extracted Images 52 Upper left end point 54 Upper right end point 55, 55a, 55b, 56, 56a, 56b Slant straight line 60 Contour 61a, 61b Mountain 62a, 62b Vertex 63a, 63b 1st curve section 64a, 64b 2nd curve section 91 Top Point 100 Evaluation Device 302 Leftmost point 303 Rightmost point 304, 305 Vertical lines 306, 306a Reference range 307, 307a points Straight lines 310, 310a, 310b, 310c, 310d, 310e Straight lines 312a, 312b Straight lines 330, 330a, 332, 332a

Claims

1. an image acquisition unit for acquiring a two-dimensional image of a cow in a standing position from approximately directly behind or approximately directly in front of the cow; an extraction unit that extracts a contour line of the cow from the captured image; a determination unit that specifies a reference dimension related to the size in the width direction of the body of the cow from the contour line, specifies a reference range between two straight lines that are separated from the leftmost point on the left side, the rightmost point on the right side, or the topmost point on the top side of the contour line by a first distance corresponding to a first ratio of the reference dimension and a second distance corresponding to a second ratio of the reference dimension inside the contour line and are approximately perpendicular to the direction of separation, and determines one or more straight lines from a plurality of points on a continuous portion of the contour line that is located within the reference range; a calculation unit that calculates a slope of the one or more straight lines determined by the determination unit or a value obtained from the slope; A cattle evaluation device comprising: an evaluation unit that evaluates the fleshiness of the cattle from the slope calculated by the calculation unit or a value obtained from the slope.

2. The cow evaluation device of claim 1, wherein the determination unit identifies the distance between a straight line extending vertically through the leftmost point of the contour line in an extracted image from which the contour line is extracted, and a straight line extending vertically through the rightmost point of the contour line in the extracted image, as the reference dimension in the lateral width direction of the cow's body.

3. The cow evaluation device described in claim 2, wherein the determination unit identifies the reference range located between the two straight lines that are respectively located at the first distance and the second distance inside the contour line from the leftmost point or the rightmost point on the contour line, and uses a value of 16% or more as the first ratio and a value of 40% or less as the second ratio.

4. The cow evaluation device according to claim 3 , wherein the determination unit uses a value of 16% or more and 24% or less as the first ratio, and uses a value of 28% or more and 40% or less as the second ratio.

5. 3. The cow evaluation device of claim 2, wherein the determination unit identifies the reference range located between the two straight lines that are respectively located at the first distance and the second distance from the uppermost point of the contour line inside the contour line, and uses a value of 15% or more as the first ratio and a value of 35% or less as the second ratio.

6. The cow evaluation device according to claim 5 , wherein the determination unit uses a value of 15% or more and 25% or less as the first ratio, and uses a value of 28% or more and 35% or less as the second ratio.

7. The cow evaluation device according to claim 1 , wherein the determination unit determines, as the one or more straight lines, a single straight line passing through points on the contour line at both ends of the reference range.

8. the determining unit determines, as the one or more straight lines, a plurality of straight lines from the plurality of points on a continuous portion of the contour line that is located within the reference range; The cow evaluation device according to claim 1 , wherein the calculation unit calculates a maximum slope, a minimum slope, or an average slope of the plurality of straight lines.

9. The cattle evaluation device according to claim 1 , wherein the evaluation unit evaluates a body condition score as an evaluation of the beefiness of the cattle.

10. The cow evaluation device according to claim 1 , further comprising an imaging unit that images the cow.

11. A contour line of a cow is extracted from a two-dimensional captured image of the cow in a standing position taken from approximately directly behind or approximately directly in front of the cow; Identifying a reference dimension related to the size of the cow's body in the width direction from the extracted contour line, identifying a reference range sandwiched between two straight lines that are separated from the leftmost point on the leftmost side, the rightmost point on the rightmost side, or the topmost point on the topmost side of the contour line by a first distance corresponding to a first ratio of the reference dimension and a second distance corresponding to a second ratio of the reference dimension inside the contour line and are approximately perpendicular to the direction of separation, and determining one or more straight lines from a plurality of points on a continuous portion of the contour line that is located within the reference range, Calculating a slope of the one or more determined straight lines or a value derived from the slope; The meatiness of the cattle is evaluated from the calculated slope or a value obtained from the slope. A method for evaluating cattle, characterized in that processing is carried out by a computer.

Images