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The Internet of Animals: Today's sheep transmit with 0G
The "Weide-GPS" project uses IoT trackers for more efficient animal tracking and pasture planning on alpine pastures, saving time and optimizing resources.
The Federal Teaching and Research Institute for Agriculture Raumberg-Gumpenstein (HBLFA) is a renowned Austrian institution specializing in agricultural research, education and consulting. HBLFA Raumberg-Gumpenstein offers a wide range of services and programs aimed at improving agricultural practice through scientific knowledge and modern technologies. Its areas of activity include crop cultivation, animal husbandry, agroecology, agricultural engineering and renewable energies. HBLFA Raumberg-Gumpenstein contributes to the improvement and implementation of Track & Trace systems in agriculture through its research and development work as well as through the transfer of knowledge and technology.
Initial situation
The management of an alpine pasture or meadow is a time-consuming and demanding task that requires a great deal of commitment and attention from the farmers. One of the most important tasks here is the regular monitoring and localization of the animals grazing on the extensive and often confusing areas. In mountainous regions in particular, finding the animals can take hours or even days, which is not only laborious but also inefficient. This initial situation poses considerable challenges for farmers and ties up valuable resources that could be used elsewhere.
In addition to the time required to search for the animals, the efficient use and maintenance of the grazing areas poses a further challenge. Without accurate information on how the animals move around the different grazing areas, uneven grazing can easily occur, which in turn leads to problems such as scrub encroachment and unused grazing areas. However, targeted planning and maintenance of pastureland is crucial for sustainable and productive farming.
Pasture GPS project
The Higher Federal Teaching and Research Institute for Agriculture Raumberg-Gumpenstein (HBLFA) recognized these problems and initiated the two-year practical project “Pasture GPS” in 2019. The aim of this project was to increase the efficiency of pasture management through the use of modern technologies, in particular GPS trackers. These trackers, which originally come from the automotive industry, have been specially adapted for use in agriculture and enable continuous monitoring and localization of animals via the Sigfox 0G network. This means that farmers can check the whereabouts of their animals at any time via a smartphone app and no longer have to spend hours searching for them.
The introduction of the trackers has not only significantly reduced working hours, but also optimized the planning and maintenance of pasture areas. The continuous collection of data on the animals’ movement patterns helps farmers to make better use of grazing areas and take targeted action against scrub encroachment. Overall, this initial situation led to the successful implementation of the “Pasture GPS” project, which has made the farmers’ work easier and significantly improved the efficiency and sustainability of pasture management.
"At first we were worried whether our farmers would even want to be involved in the project, but in the end we had such a great demand - it was a complete success!
The farmers looked after their animals much more often because they now knew where they were at all times. We believe that the technology can significantly improve alpine pasture operations in the future."
Animal tracking via 0G wireless network enables the Internet of Animals
One of the most important tasks on the mountain pasture is animal control, but searching for animals on the open pastures in the mountains often takes several hours or even days. The use of Digitanimal trackers makes it easier to find them and saves valuable time. The tracker automatically connects to the 0G network via radio at fixed time intervals and makes the position of the animals visible. Every 30 minutes, the farmers are sent a notification on their smartphone about their whereabouts – saving them a good two thirds of their working time. Reinhard Huber is delighted with the results: “The farmers looked after their animals much more often because they now knew where they were at all times. We believe that the technology can significantly improve alpine farming in the future.”
In addition to simply determining the position, the trackers can also help to optimize pasture planning. Farmers can use the data to determine the movement patterns on the individual areas and thus specifically prevent scrub encroachment on pastureland. The Sigfox 0G network is also suitable for a range of other applications: For example, for measuring water levels or monitoring temperature and humidity.
Sigfox trackers outlast the entire grazing season from May to September without maintenance
The Sigfox devices work via short-wave radio frequencies and can transmit their information over very long distances (up to 250 km with visual contact). Depending on the setting, the trackers send a signal with a maximum of 12 bytes (e.g. a GPS position or a temperature value) to the 0G network up to 140 times a day. This makes the technology extremely energy-efficient and extremely low-radiation in operation. With a battery life of several years, it is also cost-effective and maintenance-free. 0G devices are therefore perfect for the grazing season, which runs from the beginning of May to the end of September.
The internet of animals
Project:
Animals on 85 mountain pastures received IoT trackers to monitor the positions of animals and make pasture management more efficient.
Industry:
Agriculture
Challenge
- Time-consuming search for grazing animals on extensive, confusing alpine pastures
- Uneven grazing leads to scrub encroachment and unused areas
- High workload for regular animal control
- Difficulty in recording animal movement patterns and optimally planning grazing areas
- Need for more efficient, cost-effective and maintenance-free solutions for animal monitoring
Solution
- Introduction of the two-year practical project “Pasture GPS” by HBLFA Raumberg-Gumpenstein
- Equipping 85 mountain pastures with GPS trackers – also from the automotive industry
- Use of the Sigfox 0G radio network for data transmission
- Regular position updates of the animals every 30 minutes via smartphone app
- Alarm function when animals leave predefined areas.
- Maintenance-free, lightweight, low-power tracker with long battery life for the entire grazing season
Benefit
- Time saving: Reduces the time needed to locate animals by up to two thirds.
- Increased efficiency: makes it easier to check the animals regularly.
- Optimized pasture planning: Improves the use and maintenance of pasture areas through accurate movement data.
- Sustainability: Prevents scrub encroachment and promotes even grazing.
- Cost savings: Maintenance-free and energy-saving trackers reduce operating costs in the long term.
