Cuddling cows
OPINION: Years of floods and low food prices have driven a dairy farm in England's northeast to stop milking its cows and instead charge visitors to cuddle them.
Researchers from China, writing in the journal iScience, have designed a wearable smart device for cows that captures the kinetic energy created by their smallest movements. The technology is housed in a scallop-shaped shell, which is attached to a cow’s ankle or neck.
An electromagnetic generator converts kinetic energy into electrical energy, which is storied in a lithium battery that powers the wireless monitors.
Information can then be gathered, including the amount of exercise the animal gets, reproductive cycles, disease, oxygen concentration, air temperature, humidity and milk production, helping ensure good health and improving breeding productivity.
