SBIR Phase I: Developing Technology for Stimulating the Herd Instinct of Livestock to Improve Environmental Impact

SBIR 第一阶段：开发刺激牲畜群体本能以改善环境影响的技术

• 批准号: 2135291
• 负责人: Jonathan Baize
• 金额: $ 25.6万
• 依托单位: RANCHCHECK INC.
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2021-12-15 至 2023-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2135291&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: SBIR; Phase; Developing; Technology; Stimulating

The broader impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to help restore grassland ecosystems and reduce net greenhouse gas emissions from livestock by developing technology to stimulate the herd instinct of livestock. Grassland ecosystems have been shown to benefit from large herds of animals that promote water absorption and replenish important nutrients. However, most livestock in the western United States are currently scattered in large pastures and allowed to roam individually. This project aims to develop and test low-cost ear tags which use audio and electrical stimulation to reinforce the natural herd instinct of individual animals when they stray from the group. High stock density/low duration grazing has demonstrated the potential of reducing livestock greenhouse emissions and turning rangelands into a net carbon sink. Higher vegetation diversity, more water absorption, reduced erosion, and more wildlife habitat are just some of the expected ecological benefits of this technology. This technology could also facilitate more efficient and cost-effective ranch management. The risk of livestock theft will be reduced, and the need for fences would decrease since the migratory instincts of livestock work best on larger land areas. This SBIR Phase I project will develop and test a novel approach of stimulating the herd instinct of livestock rather than geographically confining them. Key to the implementation of this approach is the additional innovation of a unique and low-cost strategy to use ear tags with low-power radiofrequency (RF) transceivers to calculate herd proximity from an accumulation of individual distance estimates. This technology will use a highly integrated system using an ear tag attached to each animal in the herd. Each tag will use a low power RF transceiver to periodically send brief signals to the other tags in the herd. The tags will use signal strength measurements to calculate their own approximate distance to every other tag. Each tag will then use an algorithm to determine whether it is within an appropriate proximity to the rest of the herd. If an animal begins to stray from the herd, the tag will give an audio alert potentially followed by electrical stimulation to encourage the animal to rejoin its peers. The capability of holding a herd at a density from 10,000 to 1,000,000 pounds per acre will be a key metric of success.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

这项小型企业创新研究（SBIR）I阶段项目的更广泛影响是通过开发技术来刺激牲畜本能，来帮助恢复草地生态系统并减少牲畜的净温室气体排放。草地生态系统已被证明会受益于促进吸水并补充重要养分的大量动物。但是，美国西部的大多数牲畜目前都散布在大型牧场上，并允许单独漫游。 该项目旨在开发和测试低成本的耳号，这些耳朵标签使用音频和电刺激来增强各个动物的天然群体本能，当它们偏离群体时。高库存密度/持续时间较低的放牧表明，有可能减少牲畜温室的排放，并将牧场变成净碳水槽。较高的植被多样性，更多的吸收，减少侵蚀和更多的野生动植物栖息地只是该技术的预期生态益处。这项技术还可以促进更有效，更具成本效益的牧场管理。牲畜盗窃的风险将降低，围栏的需求将减少，因为牲畜的迁徙本能在较大的土地区域上最有效。这个SBIR阶段项目将开发和测试一种刺激牲畜本能的新方法，而不是在地理上限制它们。实施这种方法的关键是一种独特且低成本的策略的额外创新，该策略使用具有低功率射频（RF）收发器的EAR标签来计算单个距离估计的积累中的群体接近。该技术将使用高度集成的系统使用牛群中每只动物的耳号。每个标签将使用低功率RF收发器定期向牛群中的其他标签发送简短信号。标签将使用信号强度测量值来计算自己与其他标签的大约距离。然后，每个标签将使用算法来确定其是否与牛群的其余部分相邻。如果动物开始从牛群中流出，则标签将发出音频警报，然后有可能进行电刺激，以鼓励动物重新加入其同龄人。以每英亩10,000至1,000,000磅的密度持有一群牛群的能力将是成功的关键指标。该奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并且使用基金会的知识分子优点和更广泛的影响审查标准，被认为值得通过评估。