Normally, when we think of facial recognition software, we just think of unlocking our phones with our face or putting a funny filter on us for a good Snapchat. Well, now Chinese geniuses are bringing that same technology to the farm. In Yechang, China, they currently have a pilot project going on with pigs, sheep, and dairy cows. The cattle are testing the software at Xiongdi cow farm.
For humans, facial recognition software detects how far apart your facial features are. For example, it measures how far apart your eyebrows are and other distinct characteristics. One of the issues they’re running into with the pigs is that their faces look the same, but the good thing is that dairy cow faces have different shapes and patterns.
The software will work just like the “fitbits” do for cows. It’ll keep track of when the cow’s in heat, preg check results, how much the cow ate or drank, and other health information. The only difference between facial recognition and “fitbit” type technology is that with facial recognition, you don’t have to worry about it being too loose and coming off the cow. There’s nothing that has to be on the animal because cameras take about 50 different pictures of the cow at various angles to detect which one it is.
Another positive to using this technology is that it’ll warn the farmer about any signs of sickness in the animal, which could mean the animal gets treated faster than if the herdsman is checking cows. Plus, you won’t need to be looking at the herd as frequent as normal because if something goes wrong, you’ll get a notification. This isn’t a substitute for checking the herd, you just won’t have to do it as often.
A couple other projects Chinese tech teams are working on are voice recognition for pigs to warn if the pig’s in trouble and a system that’ll create feeding plans for each and every pig individually. The technology that we’re seeing in the ag community is amazing! First cow fitbits, now cow facial recognition. What’s next?
