FOR CATTLES

Technological Area:

This invention is about the pressure sensitive automatic lameness detection system for cattles that’s developed for early detection of lameness in cattle breeding.

Current Situation of the Technique:

A popular issue in today’s world animal welfare and its’ practices, criteria and development in breeding are closely followed by producers and consumers. While working on improving productivity in breeding cattle animal welfare should also be considered. Because there’s a close bound between welfare and productivity. Barns, breeding conditions, feeding, treatings to animals and staff know-how are factors which have a direct impact on animal welfare. In current systems at farms where high numbers of breeding occur it’s hard for breeders to figure out whether cattles started to become lame or not. Lameness means significant loss of productivity form ilk producers. Animals with lameness complaint do not want to move and feed consumption thus milk production dramatically decreases. In advanced stages of lameness it’s quite expensive and hard to treat it. Most of the time lame animal is being sent to therapy. This causes both financial and intangible loss in animal breeding.

The aim in cattle breeding is achieving high meat and milk production with low cost. With productivity raise in cattles normal needs of animals couldn’t be met adequately and as a result this leads to problems such as lameness, decrease in milk productivity and early excluding. As of 2015 there are 13994071 cattles in Turkey and % 86,6 of this is consisted of culture breeds and cross breeds (TUIK, 2016). Number of high capacity businesses have increased in recent years and arrangments should be made to allow for productivity controls and normal behaviours of animals.

Feet disorders in dairy cattles is a serious welfare problem and causes significant economical loss. The common indication of feet disorders is oftenly lameness. The most important economical losses caused by lameness are early purging, treatment costs, non-utilized milk, decrease in milk productivity and worsening of breeding activity. Different from non-lame cows lame cows display behavious like long durations of lying down, late entering to parlor, frequently raising feets and giving weight on different feet during milking. But there’s not any practice that accurately and automatically detects this situation.

Because lameness causes decrease in activity and body condition and aconomical loss, there are various objective and subjective methods carried out in cattle breeding to determine lameness. While objective methods are based on measuring the physical characteristics of the movement of cattles subjective examination makes use of different scoring systems to grade lameness.

In the application issue numbered US2006155172A1“Monitoring system for breeding” is described. This invention is a monitoring system and is operated to get and analyze sensor signals to diagnose cases like lameness and colic in a monitored animal. In such cases remote computing patterns can be defined and / or artificial intelligence processing schemes ca be used to compare received data with predetermined data corresponding to the known situation.

In the application issue numbered US2002055691A1 “Methods and devices for detection of lameness in animals” are described. The invention involves a computer based diagnosis system to detect and analyze ground reaction forces imposed by the animal passing through the diagnosis system and system in here is utilized to detect the lameness by analyzing the forces made by the anmila as it moves. In the application issue numbered US2016073614A1“System and mtehod for detection of lameness in trotter horses and other four legged animals” is decribed. The invention is a lameness diagnosis method in four legged animals and in time became a system that utilizes computer vision and computer based depth perception system to scan four legs like trotter horses.

What’s considered above are systems that detects lameness of animals. In said applications error margin is high beacause of camera use in determining the lameness in disordered animals. Besides these applications don’t involve a system that records information of every animal thus create various problems. This prevents to maintain a certain level in welfare of animals.

As a conclusion there’s a need for a new technology that can overcome the disadvantages mentioned above, can sturdily weigh animals, calculate load distribution during weighing, evaluate data quicker and detect lameness.

Definition of Invention:

This invention is the pressure sensitive automatic lameness detection system for cattles and its’ caharacteristic is being a new technology that can sturdily weigh animals, calculate load distribution during weighing, evaluate data quicker and detect lameness.

In order to make all purposes happen mentioned above and will be offered by the detailed description below, the invention involves a system that calculates the load distribution of animals, enables evaluation of data obtained due to this, assessment of walking pattern and detection of lameness of animal with artificial intelligence software and in case of any, provides notification to business officials via SMS, e-mail or push- notification.

Invention becomes extremely important for early detection of lameness and successful and lower-cost treatment in cattle (cow, horse etc.) breeding. With the system developed the animal is made walk on a stable platform, the distribution of its’ body weight on feet is determined and using devveloped equipment and artificial intelligence software irregularities in distribution are detected.

The system developed in the invention is determining the pressure distribution of all feet and making use of artificial intelligence detects lameness. In cases where there’s high lameness values the software used in the system subject to invention, makes notificaiton to priorily assigned officials via SMS, e-mail or push-notification methods. In addition records entered into the database can be accessed through local network and internet via mobile application using tablet or smartphone.

All the advantages of the method subject to invention will be understood clearer with the diagram given below and the detailed description written by referring this diagram so for this reason the assessment should be made considering this diagram and the detailed description.

Description of Figures:

The invention will be described by referring the figures enclosed, this way the characteristics of the invention will be understood and assessed clearer, but this is not intended to limit the invention with this specific arrangements. Vice versa it’s intended to cover all alternatives, changes and equivalents which can be involved under the area the invention is defined in by the claims enclosed. It must be understood that the shown details are given only for the description of the preferred arrangements of the current invention and presented to provide the most utilisable and clear definition of both the formation of the methods and the rules and conceptual characteristics of the invention. In these figures;

Figure 1 Perspective view of walking platform.

Figure 2 Perspective view of product subject to invention.

Figure 2 Schematic view of the operational mechanism of system subject to invention. Figure 3 Schematic view of the operational mechanism of system subject to invention.

The figures that will help out to understand this invention are numbered as specified in the enclosed figure and they’re given below by their names.

Description of References:

I. Weight detector

2. Independent platform

3. W alking platform

4. Detecting the applied weight

5. Converting it to electric signal

6. Collecting signal data

7. Transferring data to computer environment

8. Generating lameness scoring

9. Determining lameness

10. Displaying lameness result

I I . Recording it to database registry

12. Informing

13. Accessing records

Description of Invention: The invention consists of the process steps of independent platforms (2) detecting the weight applied on surface (4), weight detectors (1) converting the weight applied on independent platforms (2) they’re connected to into electric signals (5), collecting the signal data (6) from weight detctors (4) with signal convertor control hardware, transferring collected data to computer environment (7), processing the data transfered to computer environment and lameness scoring being generated (8) by artificial intelligence algorithm, determining lameness (9) as a result of the generated scoring, displaying the scoring results (10) on computer screen to user, informing (12) priorily assigned officials via SMS, e-mail or push-notification methods in cases of high lameness values detected by artificial intelligence algorithm, records being recorded to database registry system (11) and accessing the records (13) through local network or internet via the mobile application using tablet or smartphone.

The invention is characterized as generating lameness scoring (8) based on artificial intelligence enabling the determination of lameness by evaluating the walking pattern of cattles.

The invention is characterized as determining the distribution of body weight on feet as a result of making cattles walk on a stable walking platform (3).

The invention is characterized as determining the lameness (9) as a result of automatically analyzing the irregularities in distribution of animal’s body weight on feet with developed hardware and artificial intelligence software.

Detailed Description of Invention:

The basic process steps consisting the system subject to invention are detecting the wieght applied (4), converting it to electric signal (5), collecting signal data (6), transferring data to computer environment (7), generating lameness scoring (8), determining lameness (9), displaying scoring result (10), recording it to database registry system (11), informing (12) and accessing records (13).

With the invention, as a result of the weight applied on the surface of independent platforms (2) by cattles being detected (4), the weight detectors (1) connected to these platforms are able to convert these weights on the platforms to electric signals (5). Then signal data coming from weight detectors (4) are collected and transfered to computer environment by the data collector and signal convertor control hardware. These data transfered to computer environment are processed and lameness scoring is generated by aritificial intelligence algorithm. As a result of the generated scoring lameness of animals is determined. After these processes scoring result is displayed on computer screen to the user. After recording the data to database registry system (11) priorily assigned officials are informed via SMS, e-mail or push-notification methods in cases of high lameness values being detected by artificial intelligence algorithm. As a result of these process steps the users are allowed to access records through local network or internet via the mobile application used in tablet or smartphone.