FarmSense: Ensuring sustainability of pig farming with automated monitoring using machine vision and volatile organic compound sensors.

**What is FarmSense?**

FarmSense is an intelligent user-friendly platform that brings together state-of-the-art image/sensor technologies combined with artificial intelligence (AI) to support farmers and their advisors in optimising livestock production whilst assuring the highest animal welfare standards. Compared to traditional labour-intensive farming methods where animals are visited periodically during the working day, our smart monitoring system continuously analyses animal growth, behaviour and gas profiles along with the animal's day and night patterns. Our AI system learns how to automatically detect any changes in pattern indicating problems such as early disease onset, tail biting or abnormal eating/drinking behaviours. The system then delivers early on-screen alerts/prompts to farm workers. FarmSense's 24/7 monitoring thus provides farmers with an autonomous stockman tool: a 'hands-free' continuous early warning system for pig production that can be readily integrated into the UK pork supply chain.

**How does it work?**

Our approach is based on smart 3D cameras that monitor animal growth and behaviours; and gas sensors that detect gases and vapours that animals emit when diseases start to take hold. The resulting data are analysed by machine learning methods (a type of AI that learns from data) to identify common health and welfare problems affecting individual animals. Integrated into the _"VetSupport+"_ software (Zoetis), it notifies farmers of anything unusual or alarming occurring within a herd and provides suggestions for early corrective action so that quick and effective farming management decisions can be made.

**What are the benefits?**

Previous studies \[1-4\] have shown that the parameters measured by our technologies affect health and productivity in other species, including poultry. Using our technology, we predict that disease and waste reduction using FarmSense will lead to a 10-15% increase in productivity in the pork supply chain \[7\]. Indeed, we've seen 8% revenue gains observed in current deployments of our camera systems; we expect that our integrated system will achieve higher gains. Finally, our early warning system stands to reduce the carbon footprint within the livestock industry in line with the Agricultural Transition Plan, thus markedly contributing to the UK's Net Zero Strategy.

**Who can use FarmSense?**

FarmSense will initially focus on pig farming to exemplify the benefits of applying 'Precision Livestock Farming' to pork production. However, FarmSense will be readily adaptable across other livestock, such as cattle and poultry, to improve farming efficiency, minimise waste and positively contribute to the global issue of climate change.