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.

这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）第二阶段项目的更广泛影响是通过刺激牲畜的羊群本能，帮助恢复草原生态系统，减少牲畜的净温室气体排放。美国西部的大多数牲畜都分散在大牧场上，并被允许单独漫游，因此无法从大群动物的放牧中获益。该项目旨在开发和测试低成本的耳标，该耳标使用音频和电刺激来增强个体动物在脱离群体时的自然群体本能。高种群密度/短时间放牧有可能减少牲畜温室气体排放，并将牧场变成净碳汇。更高的植被多样性，更多的水吸收，减少侵蚀和更多的野生动物栖息地只是这项技术的其他预期生态效益的一部分。这项技术还将促进更有效和更具成本效益的牧场管理。牲畜被盗的风险将减少，对围栏的需求也将减少，因为牲畜的迁徙本能在更大的土地面积上发挥最大作用。土地、牲畜、野生动物、牧场主和全球社会都将受益于加强放牧动物自然羊群本能的技术发展。SBIR第二阶段项目将开发和测试一种新的方法，以刺激牲畜的羊群本能，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的低成本策略的额外创新，即使用带有低功率RF收发器的耳标，根据个体距离估计的累积来计算畜群接近度。这项技术将使用一个高度集成的系统，使用一个耳标连接到牛群中的每只动物。每个标签将使用一个低功率RF收发器定期发送简短的信号，以其他标签在牛群。标签将使用信号强度测量来计算它们自己到每个其他标签的近似距离。然后，每个标签将使用一种算法来确定它是否与牛群的其余部分在适当的接近度内。如果动物开始偏离牛群，标签将发出音频警报，随后可能会进行电刺激，以鼓励动物重新加入同伴。以每英亩10，000至1，000，000磅的密度饲养牛群的能力将是成功的关键指标。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。