Animal Husbandry System with Periodic Re-Identification
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing animal husbandry systems face challenges in accurately identifying and tracking individual animals within a group, leading to potential errors in data collection and analysis.
Innovation Solution
An animal husbandry system that includes detection and tracking means for temporarily tracking individual animals until a tracking error occurs, along with animal identification means and linking means to ensure accurate animal identity and gather relevant behavior data within a defined time interval.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If continuous tracking of individual animals is implemented, then animal behavior data can be collected, but tracking errors occur leading to incorrect animal identification
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements periodic re-identification at specific locations (feeding stations, drinking stations, resting areas) rather than attempting continuous tracking. Animals are re-identified at regular intervals when they pass through these designated zones, allowing the system to correct tracking errors periodically while maintaining continuous monitoring capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces fixed identification stations at key locations (feeding stations, drinking stations, resting areas) as intermediary points. These stations serve as mediators that verify animal identities at specific locations, allowing the system to cross-check and correct tracking data without requiring continuous direct observation of each animal.
2Loss of information
If tracking identity data is continuously updated, then animal position information is maintained, but data accuracy deteriorates due to tracking errors
Solution Approach 1:
The system employs feedback mechanisms where tracking data is continuously compared against re-identification data from fixed stations. When discrepancies are detected between tracked identity and re-identified identity, the system uses the re-identification data as feedback to correct the tracking record, ensuring data accuracy while maintaining continuity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary verification of animal identities at designated locations before incorporating the data into the continuous tracking record. By pre-verifying identities at feeding, drinking, and resting stations, the system ensures that only confirmed accurate data is integrated into the overall tracking information, preventing propagation of errors.
3Quantity of substance
If all animal behavior data is collected without verification, then data quantity increases, but data reliability decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies different quality standards to different portions of collected data. Behavior data collected during verified tracking periods (confirmed by re-identification at fixed stations) is marked as high reliability, while data from unverified periods is either excluded or marked as lower reliability. This allows the system to maintain large data volumes while ensuring that only verified data is used for critical analysis.
Data Source
Figure 1
AI summary
Animal husbandry system, wherein a group of animals can move about freely in an area, the system comprising detection and tracking means for repeatedly detecting and tracking the position of individual animals and for assigning to the animals a track comprising tracking identity data and tracking position data from a first detection until a tracking error occurs. The system comprises animal identification means with individual animal identity data. Linking means are provided for repeatedly linking the tracking identity data of individual animals to the individual animal identity data at a linking moment at a linking location with the identification means. The system is configured for automatically gathering and analyzing animal behaviour data, taking into account for each animal only animal behaviour data which are gathered in a defined time interval comprising a linking moment for that animal, thus improving the reliability.