SBIR Phase II: Technology for Stimulating the Herd Instinct of Livestock to Reduce Environmental Impact

SBIR第二阶段：刺激牲畜的群体本能以减少环境影响的技术

• 批准号: 2335554
• 负责人: Jonathan Baize
• 金额: $ 99.89万
• 依托单位: RANCHCHECK INC.
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Cooperative Agreement
• 财政年份: 2024
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2024-03-15 至 2026-02-28
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2335554&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: SBIR; Phase; II; Technology; Stimulating

The broader impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is to help restore grassland ecosystems and reduce net greenhouse gas emissions from livestock by stimulating their herd instinct. Most livestock in the western United States are scattered in large pastures and allowed to roam individually and hence do not derive benefits from grazing by large herds of animals. This project aims to develop and test low-cost ear tags that use audio and electrical stimulation to reinforce the natural herd instinct of individual animals when they stray from the herd. High stock density/low duration grazing has 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 other expected ecological benefits of this technology. This technology would also facilitate more efficient and cost-effective ranch management. The risk of livestock theft will be reduced, and the need for fences will decrease since the migratory instincts of livestock work best on larger land areas. Land, livestock, wildlife, ranchers, and the global community would benefit from the development of technology that reinforces the natural herd instinct of grazing animals.This SBIR Phase II project will develop and test a novel approach to stimulating the herd instinct of livestock rather than geographically confining them. Key to implementing this approach is the additional innovation of a unique and low-cost strategy to use ear tags with low-power 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）第二阶段项目的更广泛影响是帮助恢复草地生态系统，并通过刺激其畜群的本能来减少牲畜的净温室气体排放。美国西部的大多数牲畜都散布在大型牧场中，并允许单独漫游，因此不会从大量动物放牧而获得好处。该项目旨在开发和测试使用音频和电刺激的低成本耳号，以增强单个动物的天然群体本能，当它们偏离牛群时。高库存密度/低持续时间放牧有可能减少牲畜温室的排放，并将牧场变成净碳水槽。植被多样性较高，吸收更多，侵蚀减少以及更多的野生动植物栖息地只是该技术的其他预期生态益处。这项技术还将促进更有效，更具成本效益的牧场管理。牲畜盗窃的风险将减少，围栏的需求将减少，因为牲畜的迁徙本能在较大的土地地区效果最好。土地，牲畜，野生动植物，牧场主和全球社区将受益于加强自然放牧动物本能的技术的发展。这一SBIR II期项目将开发和测试一种新的方法来刺激牲畜本能，而不是地理限制它们。实施这种方法的关键是对使用具有低功率RF收发器的EAR标签的独特且低成本策略的其他创新，从而从单个距离估计的积累中计算出群的近端。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散发出来，则标签将发出音频警报，然后可能会进行电刺激，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。