GPS Tracking Headset Lures Bessie to the Barn
For centuries, herding dogs, cattle prods and fencing have been a rancher’s best bets for keeping cattle contained or for moving them in a particular direction.
It was just a matter of time before someone thought of a more modern way to coax a cow. It’s with GPS tracking.
Two scientists – one a computer software specialist and the other a livestock researcher – have figured out a way to round up a herd of cattle and bring them home, all from a remote location. These innovators took a real-time vehicle tracking receiver and perched it up top of ol’ Bessie’s noggin.
Real-time vehicle tracking systems capture signals from U.S. Department of Defense satellites orbiting space, to determine the exact location of the GPS tracking receiver, anywhere on the planet. GPS tracking data is captured every few seconds and sent to a Web-enabled computer by wireless network, where the operator can track the object, getting updates of GPS tracking location, speed and direction, moment by moment.
GPS tracking technology was originally developed for vehicle tracking. If it worked for vehicle tracking, the scientists figured, why not for livestock tracking?
The farmland GPS tracking device also includes a harness that hooks around the cow’s head and ears and headphones placed near the cow’s ears.
First the farmer must mark the limits of his pasture with GPS tracking. Fencing of the field is virtual. The boundaries of the pasture are programmed into the GPS tracking system. When the animal nears the forbidden boundary, a sound is emitted to the headphones to persuade her back in the right direction.
In the scientists’ GPS tracking test group, the cows seemed to prefer the lead researcher’s sing-song, “Come on, girls!” voice prompt every 30 seconds. The researchers also experimented with different cues, including a barking dog, a hissing snake, and the whistles and shouts of a cowboy roundup, to lesser success.
The GPS tracking device was designed to be solar-powered, so it would never need wall/outlet charging or batteries.
Early results of the GPS tracking experiment are promising, but it is still uncertain how well the cattle will respond when the distance between the GPS tracking receivers on their heads, and home, is miles instead of a few hundred feet.
While they seem to work, GPS tracking systems for livestock are – so far – less than practical. Besides the fact that the GPS tracking systems look awkward and amusing, (they resemble little pillbox hats with chin straps), they are also expensive (about $500 each). Who’s to say a cow wouldn’t get full of mud or smash it against a fence, unaware of her expensive headgear?
The GPS tracking system inventors are trying to get the GPS tracking system simplified to cut the price to about $100. Since there are sometimes hundreds of cattle in a herd, that’s – quite literally – a high price to put on their heads.
Maybe the headphones can also play easy-listening music, to produce more tender steaks. Isn’t that how Kobe beef earned its luxury status?
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