The use of behavioural biometrics, 3D kinematics and infrared thermography to assess affective and biological states in livestock

使用行为生物识别、3D 运动学和红外热成像技术评估牲畜的情感和生物状态

• 批准号: RGPIN-2021-02890
• 负责人: Bench, Clover
• 金额: $ 2.04万
• 依托单位: University of Alberta
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2021-01-01 至 2022-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=742266
• 关键词: use; behavioural; biometrics; 3D; kinematics

As a result of the move away from the Five Freedoms paradigm of welfare assessment, towards a Five Domains model, the field of ethology is challenged to develop valid, reliable, and feasible ways to evaluate a variety of affects experienced by animals. Livestock species are at the forefront of this development as an integral part of the global food system. Since 2016, studies have identified changes in facial action units through the use of grimace scales in animals to measure negative affects, however there are limitations to the use of grimace scales in livestock. For example, individual expression and magnitude of pain can vary between animals, which grimace scales have difficulty differentiating. For these and other reasons, grimace scales for pain assessment in some livestock species, such as pigs, have not been fully validated. My research program is unique as the only program investigating micro-behaviour biometrics in livestock as part of automated technology platforms for use in precision agriculture. The overall aim of my research program has been to better understand how qualitative and quantitative differences in livestock micro-behaviour biometrics can be incorporated into automated systems and combined with machine learning for a variety of research and on-farm applications. In addition to the use of automated infrared thermography platforms to detect micro-behaviour biometrics alongside thermal profiles as part of early disease detection, my research has also used 3D kinematic motion capture technology to better understand the biomechanics of micro-behaviours. For example, the kinematics of micro-behaviours exhibited during estrus, which confirmed micro-movements are better at detecting changes in biological functioning. However, an area that has not been explored is the use of micro-behaviour biometrics to assess affective states and facial expressions in livestock. The focus of the proposed research is to answer an emerging question in animal welfare: Are micro-facial expressions and other micro-behaviour biometrics an epiphenomenon for pain or other affective states in livestock? If so, what are the underlying physiological mechanisms? The short-term objectives of this research are: 1) to characterize the micro-facial expressions associated with positive and negative affective states, and 2) to ascertain the physiological mechanisms (pathway) underlying micro-facial expressions as affective biometrics using 3D kinematic analysis, thermal imaging, and genomic analysis. The proposed research will clarify the role physiology plays in driving micro-facial expressions in response to different types of stimuli experienced by pigs and not only strives to find a solution to current problems with the use of pain grimace scales, but also suggests it can be done using automation integrating machine learning as the Canadian agriculture sector moves towards greater inclusion of precision systems.

作为从福利评估的五个自由范式转向五个领域模型的结果，行为学领域面临着挑战，需要开发有效、可靠和可行的方法来评估动物经历的各种影响。作为全球粮食系统的组成部分，牲畜物种处于这一发展的前沿。自2016年以来，研究发现通过在动物身上使用鬼脸量表来衡量负面影响，面部动作单位发生了变化，然而，在家畜中使用鬼脸量表是有限制的。例如，不同动物的个体表情和疼痛程度可能会有所不同，而鬼脸的等级很难区分。由于这些和其他原因，一些牲畜品种，如猪，用于疼痛评估的鬼脸评分尚未得到充分验证。我的研究项目是独一无二的，作为精准农业自动化技术平台的一部分，我调查了牲畜的微行为生物识别。我的研究计划的总体目标是更好地了解如何将牲畜微观行为生物识别中的定性和定量差异纳入自动化系统，并与机器学习相结合，用于各种研究和农场应用。除了使用自动红外热像平台检测微行为生物特征作为早期疾病检测的一部分外，我的研究还使用了3D运动学运动捕捉技术来更好地了解微行为的生物力学。例如，发情期间微行为的运动学表现，这证实了微运动更善于检测生物功能的变化。然而，一个尚未被探索的领域是使用微观行为生物识别来评估家畜的情感状态和面部表情。这项拟议的研究的重点是回答动物福利中一个新出现的问题：微面部表情和其他微行为生物特征是牲畜疼痛或其他情感状态的附带现象吗？如果是这样的话，潜在的生理机制是什么？这项研究的短期目标是：1)表征与积极和消极情感状态相关的微面部表情；2)利用3D运动学分析、热成像和基因组分析，确定微面部表情背后的生理机制(路径)作为情感生物识别。这项拟议的研究将阐明生理学在猪经历的不同类型刺激下驱动微面部表情方面所起的作用，不仅努力找到使用疼痛鬼脸标尺解决当前问题的方法，而且还表明，随着加拿大农业部门朝着更广泛地纳入精确系统的方向发展，可以使用集成机器学习的自动化来完成这一任务。