Winson Agriculture, a UK-based agtech startup, has created an AI-powered bovine hoof monitor that can detect small temperature changes in cows’ feet or legs. The technology, financed by the British government, is being developed in collaboration with the Agri-EPI Centre and software company Rhyze Softworks. Elevated temperature is an early indicator of infection, appearing before the disease’s obvious symptoms. Early identification would enable dairy farmers to begin treatment right away, avoiding the economic and welfare consequences of lameness.
The Agri-EPI Centre is contributing R&D expertise and a 200-head herd at the Dairy Development Centre in South West England to test and enhance the tool, which is still in the prototype stage. The Hoof Monitor is affixed to the cows’ feet and can detect temperature changes in individual legs and feet, which distinguishes it from other monitoring technologies such as mobility scoring, accelerometer-based precision technology, and camera and AI-based visual gait analysis. Artificial intelligence is utilized to automate processes, eliminating the need for manual locomotion scoring.
Testing at the Dairy Development Centre is scheduled to continue until May 2024, when the system will be relocated to a bigger commercial dairy unit to examine its real-world capabilities. If everything goes well, early users may be able to test the technology by 2025.
Lameness costs the British dairy sector around £53.5 million per year, ranking second only to mastitis in terms of economic damage. The monitoring technology might help to reduce production inefficiencies and carbon emissions per liter of milk produced, hence boosting sustainability.
