Robotic Cattle Herder Gets Updates
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In 2016, SwagBot, an AI-powered robot, was created as a rugged, all-terrain platform capable of autonomously herding cattle. Today, researchers at the University of Sydney, Australia, have updated its mission in both hardware and software to become the world’s first “Smart Cow.”
“Its capabilities have expanded to include precision pasture management, animal health monitoring, and broader applications in autonomous farm operations,” says University of Sydney professor of robotics and intelligent systems Salah Sukkarieh. “Advances in sensing, navigation and AI have significantly enhanced its autonomy and adaptability to different farm environments for improved precision livestock and pasture management.”
SwagBot’s sensors have been upgraded with Lidar and stereo cameras for terrain mapping and obstacle detection, thermal and RGB cameras for detecting animal body temperature, multispectral and hyperspectral imaging for pasture analysis, and GPS and IMU systems for enhanced navigation accuracy.
AI and machine learning systems have built-in animal behavior analysis to track cattle movements, machine learning algorithms to monitor and assess pasture biomass and recommend grazing strategies, and AI-driven path planning to improve autonomous navigation over complex farm terrain.
“These technologies are designed to improve livestock management efficiency, reduce operational costs, and enhance sustainability through data-driven decision-making,” Sukkarieh says.
SwagBot is powered by an electric drive system with swappable battery packs to support extended field operations. The transition to fully electric propulsion aligns with broader sustainability goals in agriculture, reducing emissions compared to fossil-fuel-powered alternatives.
Sukkarieh explains the robot addresses key challenges in modern cattle production, including labor shortages, animal welfare, pasture and soil health, and operational efficiency.
The robot remains under continuous development, with future upgrades expected to focus on more advanced animal health diagnosis, using AI, integration with farm management software, enhanced computing to process data directly on the robot, and
better energy efficiency with potential hybrid charging.
The commercial availability of SwagBot is anticipated within the next few years.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Professor Salah Sukkarieh, University of Sydney, Australian Center for Field Robotics (salah.sukkarieh@sydney.edu.au).
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Robotic Cattle Herder Gets Updates LIVESTOCK Handling In 2016 SwagBot an AI-powered robot was created as a rugged all-terrain platform capable of autonomously herding cattle Today researchers at the University of Sydney Australia have updated its mission in both hardware and software to become the world’s first “Smart Cow ” “Its capabilities have expanded to include precision pasture management animal health monitoring and broader applications in autonomous farm operations ” says University of Sydney professor of robotics and intelligent systems Salah Sukkarieh “Advances in sensing navigation and AI have significantly enhanced its autonomy and adaptability to different farm environments for improved precision livestock and pasture management ” SwagBot’s sensors have been upgraded with Lidar and stereo cameras for terrain mapping and obstacle detection thermal and RGB cameras for detecting animal body temperature multispectral and hyperspectral imaging for pasture analysis and GPS and IMU systems for enhanced navigation accuracy AI and machine learning systems have built-in animal behavior analysis to track cattle movements machine learning algorithms to monitor and assess pasture biomass and recommend grazing strategies and AI-driven path planning to improve autonomous navigation over complex farm terrain “These technologies are designed to improve livestock management efficiency reduce operational costs and enhance sustainability through data-driven decision-making ” Sukkarieh says SwagBot is powered by an electric drive system with swappable battery packs to support extended field operations The transition to fully electric propulsion aligns with broader sustainability goals in agriculture reducing emissions compared to fossil-fuel-powered alternatives Sukkarieh explains the robot addresses key challenges in modern cattle production including labor shortages animal welfare pasture and soil health and operational efficiency The robot remains under continuous development with future upgrades expected to focus on more advanced animal health diagnosis using AI integration with farm management software enhanced computing to process data directly on the robot and better energy efficiency with potential hybrid charging The commercial availability of SwagBot is anticipated within the next few years Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Professor Salah Sukkarieh University of Sydney Australian Center for Field Robotics salah sukkarieh@sydney edu au
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