Automating the poultry welfare and environmental monitoring process could be a solution to labor shortages, but it won’t replace the need for human workers. Instead, it frees them up for other tasks.
“We’re not trying to take any one out of the chicken house or make them spend less time in the chicken house, we’re just trying to make it more effective,” Scott Becker, director of North American sales for Cumberland, explained.
“To me, it’s really about getting more data and more information to do a better job.”
Automating poultry welfare, environmental monitoring
The robot runs on a galvanized rail attached to the ceiling of the barn and features mobile sensors, artificial intelligence (AI) and on board cameras and sensors to monitor, record and analyze activity in the poultry house.
“We’re measuring free space to determine bird density and mortality and analyzing droppings and wet spots to create an animal welfare score that is measured a minimum of six times daily,” Becker said. “Every day, we can actually look to see if we’re improving or getting worse.”
In addition, sensors on the robot regularly measure temperature, carbon dioxide, air speed, ammonia, relative humidity (RH), light intensity, audio levels and other factors in the environment.
The poultry house robot, initially presented as an innovation at the 2019 Poultry Tech Summit by Farm Robotics and Automation S.L. (Faromatics), was acquired by AGCO, a division of Cumberland, in 2021.
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.
