The growth in wirelessly enabled sensor network technologies has enabled the low cost deployment of sensor platforms with applications in a range of sectors and communities. In the agricultural domain such sensors have been the foundation for the creation of decision support tools that enhance farm operational efficiency. This Research Reflection illustrates how these advances are assisting dairy farmers to optimise performance and illustrates where emerging sensor technology can offer additional benefits. One of the early applications for sensor technology at an individual animal level was the accurate identification of cattle entering into heat (oestrus) to increase the rate of successful pregnancies and thus optimise milk yield per animal. This was achieved through the use of activity monitoring collars and leg tags. Additional information relating to the behaviour of the cattle, namely the time spent eating and ruminating, was subsequently derived from collars giving further insights of economic value into the wellbeing of the animal, thus an enhanced range of welfare related services have been provisioned. The integration of the information from neck-mounted collars with the compositional analysis data of milk measured at a robotic milking station facilitates the early diagnosis of specific illnesses such as mastitis. The combination of different data streams also serves to eliminate the generation of false alarms, improving the decision making capability. The principle of integrating more data streams from deployed on-farm systems, for example, with feed composition data measured at the point of delivery using instrumented feeding wagons, supports the optimisation of feeding strategies and identification of the most productive animals. Optimised feeding strategies reduce operational costs and minimise waste whilst ensuring high welfare standards. These IoT-inspired solutions, made possible through Internet-enabled cloud data exchange, have the potential to make a major impact within farming practices. This paper gives illustrative examples and considers where new sensor technology from the automotive industry may also have a role.

中文翻译：

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物联网提高动物福利和农场运营效率

无线传感器网络技术的发展使传感器平台的低成本部署成为可能，并在一系列部门和社区中得到应用。在农业领域，此类传感器已成为创建提高农场运营效率的决策支持工具的基础。本研究反思说明了这些进步如何帮助奶农优化绩效，并说明新兴传感器技术可以在哪些方面提供额外的好处。传感器技术在个体动物水平上的早期应用之一是准确识别进入发情（发情）的牛，以提高成功怀孕率，从而优化每头动物的产奶量。这是通过使用活动监测项圈和腿标签来实现的。与牛的行为有关的其他信息，即进食和反刍的时间，随后从项圈中获得，从而进一步了解动物福利的经济价值，因此提供了更多与福利相关的服务。将来自颈挂式项圈的信息与在机器人挤奶站测量的牛奶成分分析数据相结合，有助于早期诊断特定疾病，如乳腺炎。不同数据流的组合也有助于消除误报的产生，提高决策能力。整合来自已部署农场系统的更多数据流的原则，例如，使用仪表化饲喂车在交付点测量的饲料成分数据，支持优化喂养策略和识别最高产的动物。优化的喂养策略可降低运营成本并最大限度地减少浪费，同时确保高福利标准。这些受物联网启发的解决方案通过支持互联网的云数据交换成为可能，有可能对农业实践产生重大影响。本文给出了说明性示例，并考虑了汽车行业的新传感器技术在哪些方面也可能发挥作用。