Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Department of Life Sciences, Albrecht Daniel Thaer Institute of Agricultural and Horticultural Sciences, Animal Husbandry and Ethology, Unter den Linden 6, 10099 Berlin, Germany.
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Department of Life Sciences, Albrecht Daniel Thaer Institute of Agricultural and Horticultural Sciences, Animal Husbandry and Ethology, Unter den Linden 6, 10099 Berlin, Germany.
Animal. 2024 Jun;18(6):101163. doi: 10.1016/j.animal.2024.101163. Epub 2024 Apr 17.
Real-Time Location Systems (RTLSs) are promising precision livestock farming tools and have been employed in behavioural studies across various farm animal species. However, their application in research with fattening pigs is so far unexplored. The implementation of these systems has great potential to gain insight into pigs' spatial behaviour such as the use of functional areas and pigs' proximity to each other as indicators for social relationships. The aim of this study was therefore to validate the accuracy, precision, and data quality of the commercial Noldus Information Technology BV TrackLab system. We conducted different measurement sets: first, we performed static measurements in 12 pens at four different locations in each pen at three heights each using a single ultra-wideband tag (UWB). We recorded unfiltered x- and y-coordinates at 1 Hz. We repeated these measurements with six tags aligned in a 2 × 3 grid with varied spacing to test interference between the tags. We also tested dynamic performance by moving the tags along the centre line of the pens. Finally, we measured the data quality with 55 growing pigs in six pens, including the identification of location 'jumps' from the inside to the outside of the pen. Each pen housed ten animals fitted with a UWB tag attached to their farm ear tag. We collected data for 10 days and analysed seven 24-h periods of raw and filtered data. The mean accuracy of the RTLS measurements was 0.53 m (precision: 0.14 m) for single and 0.46 m (precision: 0.07 m) for grouped tags. Accuracy improved with increasing measurement height for single tags but less clearly for grouped tags (P [height single] = 0.01; P [height grouped] = 0.22). When tags were fitted to animals, 63.3% of the filtered data was lost and 21.8% of the filtered location estimates were outside the pens. Altogether, the TrackLab system was capable of fairly accurate and precise assignment of the functional areas where individual animals were located, but was insufficient for the analysis of social relationships. Furthermore, the frequent occurrence of gaps in signal transmission and the overall high data loss rates presented significant limitations. Additionally, the challenging hardware requirements for attaching sensors to the animals underline the need for further technological advances in RTLS for the application with growing-finishing pigs.
实时定位系统 (RTLS) 是一种有前途的精准畜牧养殖工具，已被应用于各种农场动物的行为研究中。然而，目前在育肥猪的研究中尚未应用这些系统。这些系统的实施具有很大的潜力，可以深入了解猪的空间行为，例如使用功能区域以及猪之间的接近程度作为社交关系的指标。因此，本研究的目的是验证 Noldus Information Technology BV TrackLab 系统的准确性、精度和数据质量。我们进行了不同的测量设置：首先，我们在四个不同位置的每个位置的 12 个畜栏中进行了静态测量，每个畜栏在三个高度上各使用一个超宽带标签 (UWB)。我们以 1 Hz 的频率记录未经过滤的 x 和 y 坐标。我们用六个标签以 2x3 网格的形式对齐，并改变间隔，以测试标签之间的干扰，重复了这些测量。我们还通过沿着畜栏的中心线移动标签来测试动态性能。最后，我们使用六个畜栏中的 55 头生长猪来测量数据质量，包括从畜栏内部到外部的位置“跳转”的识别。每个畜栏都饲养了十头动物，每个动物都佩戴了一个 UWB 标签，贴在它们的农场耳标上。我们收集了 10 天的数据，并分析了未经过滤和过滤后的数据的七个 24 小时周期。RTLS 测量的平均精度为单个标签 0.53 米（精度：0.14 米），分组标签 0.46 米（精度：0.07 米）。对于单个标签，测量高度的增加会提高精度，但对于分组标签则不太明显（P[height single] = 0.01；P[height grouped] = 0.22）。当标签贴在动物身上时，63.3%的过滤数据丢失，21.8%的过滤位置估计值超出畜栏范围。总的来说，TrackLab 系统能够相当准确和精确地分配单个动物所在的功能区域，但不足以分析社交关系。此外，信号传输中断频繁以及总体上高的数据丢失率带来了重大限制。此外，将传感器附着在动物身上的硬件要求苛刻，这突显了 RTLS 在生长育肥猪应用中需要进一步的技术进步。
