Pignet

Why monitor pigs?

Pig farming is a huge industry worldwide, and there is a vested interest in monitoring the growth and health of pigs. In pig production, farrowing mortality, pre-weaning mortality and quality of the piglets are major economic factors for farm owners. Implementing automatic monitoring throughout the high-risk farrowing and pre-weaning periods could help farmers to reduce risk and better protect their livestock

On average, monitoring the birth event halves the number of related deaths

• Detect onset of birth

After birth, sow maternal behaviors can hurt piglet survival

• Detect nursing
• Detect sow movements

Why use vibration sensors?

Pignet is the first system to use structural vibration to monitor animal behavior. Pigs in a pen cause unique vibration patterns in the structure floor every time they move.

For example, when a pig walks, their footsteps create vibration in the pen structure. When they lie down, their weight changes the natural vibration of the structure. By sensing this vibration, we can infer the different activities of the animals.

Advantages:

• Inexpensive and easy to install (1-3 sensors per pen)
  
• No need to attach device to the animals
  
• Low storage and bandwidth requirements