Researchers at Chelyabinsk State University (ChelSU), together with colleagues from the Federal Scientific Center for Biological Systems and Agrotechnologies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, developed the non-contact weighing method of bovine and ovine animals and evaluated their productivity using artificial. intelligence (AI) – now, to find out how much a calf weighs six months later, it’s enough to point the camera at the animal. This was reported to socialbites.ca by the Russian Ministry of Education and Science.
Today, the external appearance and productivity assessment of livestock in industrial livestock is done by an expert in manual mode, which becomes subjective. Conventional animal weighing is stressful for the animal, which can result in weight loss. The method proposed by scientists eliminates both of these risks.
Using computer vision technology, the system measures the weight of the animal, allowing you to determine its morphological characteristics and predict the change in weight in the future.
“We determine the body weight without touching the cow and define a meat category. For example, it’s no secret that gourmets are very fond of marbled beef. You can guess how much such a delicacy will turn out when the calf grows up. The monitoring we conduct allows us to make the right decision about the best time to slaughter livestock, which allows us to reduce the cost of raising livestock,” the methodology’s author, Aleksey Ruchai, head of the Computer Security Department and ChelGU Faculty of Mathematics Applied Algebra, told socialbites.ca.
Now the scientific team is busy updating the database, the size of which determines the efficiency and accuracy of the system. To do this, it is necessary to constantly conduct experiments on non-contact weighing of different animals. So far, the error of non-contact measurement is 5-10%, which is comparable to conventional weighing.
Initially, the experiment was built on the basis of three rooms. The researchers had to calibrate the cameras and stabilize the animal in a still state. Now experts are working on the technique of measuring with a single camera as the animal passes by. The scientific team’s goal is to create a simple and versatile, automatic, contactless weighing system that anyone can install without special training.