Revolutionizing Livestock Management with LoRaWAN-based Smart Rumen Bolus

Recently, the "One Belt, One Road" international cooperation recommendation meeting for the major scientific and technological achievements of the Bayannaoer National Agricultural High Zone in Inner Mongolia was held in Linhe District, Bayannao City. At the meeting, the rumen capsule developed by the Mongolia R&D team for many years was officially unveiled.

The rumen is the first stomach of ruminants, and various physiological data and health indicators of the rumen play a decisive role in the growth and health of ruminants,at the Talent Hetao Headquarters Base in Linhe District, the reporter saw this small capsule with a white appearance and the shape of an effervescent tablet.

"This capsule is actually a small robot, which can be implanted in the rumen of cattle to conduct comprehensive monitoring of the entire life cycle of cattle, which will make modern and intensive farming more cutting-edge, allowing people to avoid the need for cattle in the process of raising cattle. Then 'play the piano to the cow'." Li Xianlong, head of the Biotechnology R&D team, told reporters.

Accurately detect abnormal signs of cattle

Bayannaoer City, Inner Mongolia is located in the Hetao Plain, known as the "Talent Hetao". It is one of the most important meat production and export bases in northern my country. This is also an important reason for the birth of cutting-edge scientific and technological products for ruminants.

"In the traditional large-scale breeding process, we monitor and judge the health of cattle, generally relying on observation and veterinary diagnosis. Retail investors rely more on experience and inference, and cannot accurately detect abnormal health conditions of cattle and lock them in time. "In front of the big data platform of Jishuo Technology, Yuan Weiwu, the founder of Jishuo Technology, pointed to the screen and introduced it to the reporter of Science and Technology Daily.

Generally speaking, a cow can take rumen capsules 8 months after birth, and the capsules will stay in the rumen for life, becoming the cow's unique "identity card" and "personal attending doctor". The capsule can sense data such as body temperature, posture, activity level, frequency of drinking water, location, and pH value in the stomach of the cow through sensors. Before the reporter's interview, the rumen capsules had been tested on 750 cattle in 7 pastures in Bayannaoer City for 19 months, meeting the conditions for mass production in the market.

According to reports, the rumen capsule will stay in the rumen of cattle stably because of its own weight, and it does not require maintenance. The special shell and high corrosion resistance avoid the risk of damage due to external wear and gastric juice corrosion.

In terms of diet, the rumen capsule can use the six-axis gyroscope to calculate the peristalsis of the cow's ruminant stomach, according to which the breeder can easily grasp the number of the cow's rumination; when the cow drinks water, the rumen temperature will continue to drop to 24-36 degrees Celsius, according to The daily capsule records the peak temperature of the rumen, and the breeder can grasp the drinking frequency of the cow on the day.

Through the information measured by the rumen capsule, the breeder can also know how the digestive environment of the rumen is. The health management system connected with the rumen capsule can also be equipped with an environmental monitoring and control system. If it is found that the growth environment of the cattle is bad, the system can automatically optimize the equipment and optimize the environment; When no symptoms are shown, early warning is given and the cattle are treated.

Yuan introduced: "The implantation of the six-axis gyroscope into the capsule is a major innovation of the R&D team. The gyroscope sensor can monitor the cow's lying, lying, and straddling movements or hoof diseases in real time, helping us to better Focus on the health of the cows."

Big data helps industrial upgrading

Agricultural data has become a new and important production tool in the primary industry. The reporter learned that while developing the rumen capsule, the technical team of Jishuo has jointly tackled key problems with many domestic universities and research institutes, and solved the problems of capsule data transmission, sensor data presentation, and healthy breeding management algorithm modeling. The ranch digital management system based on rumen capsules has enabled cattle breeding to change from manual observation to speaking with data.

If we can detect sick cows early, if we can accurately prescribe the right medicine, if we can master multiple disease data..." For farmers who have suffered losses due to sick cows, if there are many such, and the digitalization of rumen capsule-based pastures The management system turns all these 'what ifs' into reality." Li Xianlong said.

Based on the core basic data of the cattle breeding process collected and recorded in real time by the rumen capsule, the management platform can realize the complete traceability and comparison of the breeding process. "Not only farmers, but also banks, insurance companies, and the government can supervise biological assets based on this." Yuan Weiwu said: "This is important for my country's cattle blight prevention and control, health management, breeding management, food traceability, quality improvement, genetics The digital transformation of industries such as breeding, livestock finance and insurance, government regulation, feed formulation, and veterinary drug improvement is of great significance."

Shuiyuan, a professor at Hetao College of Inner Mongolia, said that relying on rumen capsules and supporting systems, ranches can be digitally and accurately managed, and the technical achievements can serve the entire animal husbandry industry including breeding, forage grass, veterinary medicine, breeding, banks, insurance companies, and scientific research institutes. The industrial chain can help the livestock products in the breeding industry to improve the quality and efficiency, reduce labor intensity, improve work efficiency, realize scientific feeding, and improve the economic benefits of breeding enterprises. 

---Article reprinted from Science and Technology Daily