Pastures without fences: the cows are managed with GPS and bluetooth

The IoT in Agriculture Market by Technology, Automation (Robots, Drones, and Smart Equipment), Sensor Types, Hardware, Software and Solutions 2021 – 2026 report evaluates technologies, companies and solutions for the IoT in agriculture providing forecasts around everything concerning one of the most interesting FinTech sectors, namely Agritech. Which, in turn, includes an even more specific sector, that of intelligent sensors. According to the report, the market for these systems will reach 2.48 billion dollars globally by 2026. In the field of technological applications concerning livestock, all the components that involve the development of intelligent sensors are constantly innovating. . Virtual fencing (i.e. virtual fencing) has been experimenting for several years with techniques to prevent pets from entering or exiting a predetermined area at will without the use of visible fences. Early solutions proposed a signal-emitting wire surrounding the pasture area and a receiver present on the animal in a collar that produced a low-power electrical pulse when the animal passed the wire. But the system still involved the installation of fixed cables, albeit underground, and did not prove to be an ideal tool for flexible grazing systems. In the following years, virtual fencing technologies using GPS were experimented and produced, which allowed the fences to be not only invisible, but also dynamic, without the need to install wires and with the collar worn by animals capable of emitting an electrical impulse associated with an audio signal which, once associated by the animals with the annoyance, anticipates their decision to go back before the impulse hits them. This is the case of Nofence, a Norwegian company. The technology, manageable with an app, uses a unit connected to the GPS hanging from the neck of the cows capable of giving an acoustic signal, followed by a negative stimulus, when a cow approaches the virtual fence line set on a computer . The company explains: “There are many positive effects of grazing that favor the achievement of sustainable agriculture. We are proud to be the first company in the world to develop a commercially sold virtual fencing technology ”. The main product is the sturdy collar for cattle and sheep. On both sides of the collar there are small solar panels that guarantee the operation of the appliance and are resistant to scratches and abrupt movements of animals. The receiver uses both the American GPS system and the Russian GLONASS system to triangulate the position and communicate it via the low-frequency Blutooth signal. Then there are, of course, a rechargeable battery with panels, motion sensors on three axes and the connection with the mobile network that already works with 2G.