The FarmLife smart agriculture service and LoRa-enabled sensors detect cattle estrus, as well as predict the onset of disease to help ranchers better monitor their herd
Image: itk has developed cattle health monitoring solution based on Semtech’s LoRa devices. Photo: courtesy of Semtech Corporation.
French Internet of Things (IoT)-based smart agriculture applications provider itk has developed a new cattle health monitoring solution through using LoRa devices from Semtech.
The FarmLife smart agriculture service and LoRa-enabled sensors will help identify cattle estrus, provide improved nutrition and predict the onset of disease to support ranchers better monitor their herd.
itk CEO Eric Jallas said: “The IoT technology’s proven advantages for smart agriculture, including long range communication and ultra-low power consumption, were key characteristics for itk to develop its cattle monitoring sensors.
Semtech’s LoRa devices will be used for the development of applications that help reduce waste and maximise yield
Serving as a flexible solution for the smart agriculture vertical, Semtech’s LoRa devices will be used for the creation of applications that help reduce waste, maximise yield and decrease expenses.
itk’s LoRa-based sensors will be deployed through a collar equipped to each animal. The non-invasive collar immediately starts reporting data on the cow’s health upon deployment.
LoRa-based device will be used by ranchers to monitor their herd. The device provides four value added services such as Heat’Live for heat detection, Feed’Live for nutrition optimization, Time’Live for animal welfare and Vel’Live for calving detection.
FarmLife Cloud platform will be used to provide these services. Around 20 ranches have deployed itk’s FarmLife platform in North America, connecting cows to the Cloud via through network connectivity from Canadian network provider X-TELIA.
Around 300,000 cows are already monitoring through the same platform in Europe. X-TELIA and itk are also planning to launch the smart agriculture solution in the Canadian market, with the addition of itk’s San’Phone cattle health monitoring service and its Thermo-bolus sensor to connect up to 2.4 million cows.
Semtech’s wireless and sensing products group vice president Marc Pegulu said: “From measuring environmental conditions that influence crop production to tracking livestock health indicators, LoRa devices for smart agriculture enable efficiencies that reduce environmental impact, maximize yield and minimize expenses.”