3D Animal Growth Monitoring via Optical Copying
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for monitoring animal growth, such as in calf rearing, are labor-intensive, time-consuming, and prone to inaccuracies, often leading to delayed detection of growth stagnation, which can have adverse consequences for the animal's future development and welfare.
Innovation Solution
A system utilizing a 3D camera and RFID/UHF tags to monitor animal growth without individual weighing, allowing for frequent and accurate measurements of multiple animals in a collective space, with a computer system comparing data to predetermined growth curves to generate attention signals for deviations, enabling timely intervention.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If physical weighing of individual animals is performed, then growth data can be obtained, but the method is time-intensive and labor-intensive
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses optical copying techniques where images of animals are captured and processed to create virtual models. These models serve as copies that can be measured without physically handling or weighing the actual animals, enabling automated growth monitoring that eliminates time-intensive manual weighing while maintaining measurement accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical weighing system with an optical measurement system. Instead of using physical scales to measure animal weight, the system uses cameras to capture images, processes these images to create 3D models, and derives growth metrics from these models, substituting mechanical measurement with optical and computational methods.
2Measurement precision
If physical weighing of individual animals is performed, then growth data can be obtained, but the method requires individual handling which is labor-intensive
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple measurement functions into a single automated system. Instead of requiring separate handling and weighing operations for each animal, the system combines optical capture, image processing, 3D modeling, and growth analysis into one integrated process that monitors multiple animals simultaneously without individual handling.
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables animals to be measured without their active participation or handling. Animals simply need to be visible in the capture area, and the automated system performs all measurement and analysis functions independently, eliminating the need for operators to physically handle each animal.
3Measurement precision
If measurements are performed individually, then accurate growth data can be obtained, but data collection frequency is insufficient for large numbers of animals
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the measurement process into automated computational steps that can be executed rapidly for multiple animals. By dividing the task of monitoring many animals into individual image capture and processing operations that run in parallel or sequence without manual intervention, the system achieves high data collection frequency while maintaining precision for each animal.
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables continuous or near-continuous measurement of all animals in the population. Rather than periodic batch weighing, the automated optical system can capture and process images continuously, providing ongoing growth data for every animal without interruption or manual intervention between measurements.
4Measurement precision
If manual weighing is performed, then growth data is collected, but measuring inaccuracies are in the same order of magnitude as the measured growth
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from one-dimensional weight measurements to three-dimensional volumetric measurements. By capturing images from multiple angles and creating 3D models, the system measures animals in multiple dimensions, providing more comprehensive and accurate growth data that is not limited to the constraints of traditional weighing methods.
Data Source
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AI summary
Method and systems for monitoring the growth of animals, the method comprising: a. bringing together a multiplicity of animals in at least one collective space, such as a pen or barn space, in which the animals can move freely; b. obtaining a 3D image of an area within the at least one pen with the aid of at least one 3D camera and/or a multiplicity of cameras, while the animals can be inside the area; c. supplying information about the 3D image of the area to a signal processing unit; d. with the signal processing unit, according to a first predetermined algorithm, recognizing an animal in the 3D image; e. determining the identity of the animal which has been or is recognized in step d.; f. with the signal processing unit, on the basis of a 3D image obtained and supplied in step c, of the animal recognized in step d., within the 3D image of the area, according to a second predetermined algorithm, at least estimating a growth parameter such as a weight, a volume and/or a length parameter of the animal recognized in step d.; g. repeating steps d.-f. when the animal appears in the image again; h. with the aid of a first computer, collecting the information obtained in steps d.-g. to obtain insight into the growth of the animal in time.