Sensors that record the micro-climate conditions of live poultry could help improve the health and welfare of poultry during transportation.
“We record these conditions to make sure they’re in the range that the customer wants. The customer can decide how high the temperature has to be before someone gets alerted or how cold it gets before someone gets alerted,” said Joel Sotomayor, president and CEO, Transport Genie Ltd.
“It’s all about creating situational awareness.”
Fluctuations in temperature, humidity, vibration, ammonia, carbon dioxide and other environmental conditions can be stressful to poultry, which can result in lower quality products, lower revenues and higher mortality.
In addition, proposed regulations in the EU prohibits poultry and livestock transportation on days hotter than 35 ℃ (95 ℉).
Because of this, “you need to have mechanisms in these trailers to monitor the birds and other livestock when they’re being transported,” Sotomayor added.
Poultry welfare monitoring during transport
The technology, presented as an innovation at the 2018 Poultry Tech Summit, uses the internet of things (IoT) to monitor the environmental conditions every ten minutes during loadout, in transport and in plant holding sheds. The sensors can also automatically connect with fans and misting devices in the truck, reducing driver distraction.
If a threshold is exceeded, an alert is sent automatically to the driver and other key stakeholders. Because the data is stored in the cloud with blockchain, it can be accessed anywhere in the world and can be used to increase transparency and traceability in the poultry supply chain.
Components of the sensor, like the battery, are designed to be easily replaced, extending the lifecycle of the technology.
Since 2018, the hardware design of the sensor has evolved to become more rugged and sophisticated. The temperature probe is now designed to be an internal part of the sensor, protecting it from inquisitive poultry, extreme weather conditions and cleaning and disinfection protocols.
In 2023, Transport Genie will focus on several sustainability initiatives.
“Instead of throwing out our sensors when the battery dies, we are making our sensor easier to repair,” said Klaire Libre, marketing manager for Transport Genie. “We are not just taking care of animals, we also want to take care of the environment. We will also be announcing a partnership with a tree planting company and then create an algorithm to help producers offset their carbon footprint,” added Klaire.
Attend the 2023 Poultry Tech Summit
Join an exclusive international gathering of industry-changing innovators, researchers, entrepreneurs, technology experts, investors and leading poultry producers at the 2023 edition of Poultry Tech Summit on November 6-8 at the Hilton Atlanta Airport in Atlanta, Georgia.
Attendees can expect the same groundbreaking innovation and insightful presentations that made the previous events well-attended with deep dialogue on new prospective solutions and next-generation technologies. Poultry Tech Summit focuses on the transition of innovative technologies into commercial applications to advance the poultry industry.
Registration for this event will open in the spring of 2023.
