Automated Cutting Horse Training System Using Decoy Tracking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Cutting horse training is time-consuming and expensive due to the need for repeated use of live calves, and existing mechanical devices fail to manage stress effectively, especially in vertical training planes, requiring manual operation and potentially causing intimidation in young horses.
Innovation Solution
A system using positioning and tracking technologies, such as transmitters, antennas, cameras, and GPS, to automatically move and maneuver a decoy based on the horse's location, allowing for autonomous training without operator input, with a motorized carrier and pre-defined movement protocols to maintain the horse within a defined zone.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If a mechanical device with operator control is used to train cutting horses, then training can be performed without live calves, but the device requires manual operation and may intimidate young horses
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables the decoy to automatically track and respond to the horse's movements without requiring manual operation. The positioning system continuously monitors the horse's location and automatically adjusts the decoy's position and orientation to maintain optimal training conditions, eliminating the need for constant operator intervention while preserving the training effectiveness.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual mechanical operation with an automated electronic control system. Positioning sensors detect the horse's location, and this information is processed by a control system that automatically commands the decoy's motors to adjust position and orientation, substituting human mechanical control with an automated electromechanical system.
2Quantity of substance
If a calf replica is used to train horses in vertical plane, then training can be performed without live calves, but the horse experiences high stress and intimidation
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts the decoy's behavior based on real-time positioning data of the horse. Rather than using a fixed or pre-programmed movement pattern, the decoy continuously adapts its position, speed, and orientation in response to the horse's actual movements, creating a more natural and less stressful training environment that mimics live calf behavior without the associated stress.
3Extent of automation
If automated tracking system is implemented, then operator intervention is minimized, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The positioning system serves multiple functions: it tracks the horse's location, determines the decoy's orientation relative to the horse, calculates the optimal decoy position, and provides feedback for automated control. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate specialized components, thereby managing system complexity while achieving high automation.
Data Source
AI summary
A method, system, and apparatus are provided for a cutting horse trainer that operates to train a cutting horse without additional input from an operator or trainer. More specifically, in one aspect of the disclosure described herein, positioning systems, such as transmitters, receivers, camera tracking, gyroscopes, accelerometers, and/or GPS tracking allow a cutting horse trainer system to detect the position of the horse with respect to a field of view (azimuth) of a decoy, and automatically adjust the position of the decoy accordingly.