3D Camera Ruminant Health Monitoring via Surface Curvature
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing animal monitoring systems struggle to provide reliable and non-contact health indication information for ruminant animals, particularly in determining health-related movement frequencies.
Innovation Solution
A 3D camera system that captures images of a region of interest on the animal over time, processes these images to calculate curvature values and relative positions, and analyzes these values to determine health parameter frequency values, providing a non-contact method for health monitoring.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If contact-based sensors or wearable devices are used to monitor animal health, then measurement precision may be improved, but animal stress increases and reliability decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces contact-based mechanical sensors with non-contact 3D imaging technology. The system uses 3D cameras to capture images of the animal's body surface and applies image processing algorithms to extract health parameters, eliminating the need for physical contact and thereby reducing animal stress while maintaining measurement capability
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces 3D images as an intermediary between the animal and the measurement system. Instead of directly contacting the animal with sensors, the system captures 3D visual information and processes it computationally to derive health indicators, serving as a non-invasive intermediary that preserves animal welfare
2Object-affected harmful factors
If 3D camera systems are used for non-contact monitoring, then animal stress is reduced, but measurement precision and reliability of health parameters decrease
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from traditional 2D image analysis to 3D volumetric analysis. By capturing and processing 3D images, the system extracts depth information and spatial relationships that provide more accurate health parameters while maintaining non-contact operation, thus resolving the precision limitation of earlier 2D systems
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the measurement parameters from simple 2D image features to 3D geometric parameters such as surface curvature, volume, and spatial coordinates. These enhanced parameters provide more reliable health indicators by capturing the full three-dimensional morphology of the animal's body surface
3Loss of information
If health-related movements are monitored directly, then health information is obtained, but noise from voluntary animal movements reduces reliability
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts specific health-related movement patterns from the complex 3D image data by focusing on localized body region analysis. The system isolates movements of specific anatomical regions and separates them from overall animal movement, extracting only the health-relevant signals while filtering out voluntary movement noise
4Measurement precision
If curvature analysis is used to determine health parameters, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the animal's body into multiple regions of interest and analyzes curvature independently for each region. This segmentation allows the complex 3D surface analysis to be broken down into manageable local calculations, reducing overall computational complexity while maintaining high measurement precision through localized curvature assessment
Data Source
AI summary
A system and method which functions to automatically monitor a ruminant animal. The system includes a 3D camera system that obtains images from a region of interest. An image processor determines the surface curvature in the region of interest, as a function of time. Based on the frequency with which this function attains local maxima, a health indication for the animal is generated.