New breeding technology gives farmers a wii boost

New breeding technology, taking advantage of the same movement-detection technology used in the Nintendo Wii, is set to help cattle producers more accurately identify cows in heat.

The Silent Herdsman, developed by Embedded Technology Solutions (ETS), is a collar which sits around the cows neck monitoring her movement and alerting farmers when she is in heat and ready for breeding.

The technology takes advantage of a “three-axis accelerometer” which is used in popular games consoles including the Nintendo Wii.

In a bid to retain battery energy, the collar remains dormant until it detects a change in the cow’s regular movements. It then sends a signal to the farmer’s computer, or smartphone via a mobile phone app.

ETS co-founder Professor Ivan Andonovic said: “We’ve already installed these on 70 farms around the UK and we’ve received feedback from farmers telling us it’s freeing up their time to complete other tasks on the farm and making it a much easier job to breed cattle.”