The sensor technologies for more efficient cow reproduction systems

Abstract

Good reproduction is key for successful dairy farming. Detection of estrus is the first step in getting a cow pregnant. Inadequate and inaccurate estrus detection is frequently a cause of cows becoming repeat breeders. Sensor technologies are being used to monitor the production and physiological condition of the animals. Increasingly, these innovations are leading to a more efficient performance of dairy cows, in terms of both physiology and profitability. Three types of sensors used in this area; electrochemical sensors, chemoresistive gas sensors chemoresistive sensor. Chemoresistive gas sensors have received impulse great deal of attention because of its many advantages over other sensing technologies. Electrochemical sensors are becoming unpopular as they have a short lifetime, rendering them unacceptable for some applications. Optical sensors show excellent characteristics of sensitivity, selectivity, adequate lifetime, and fast response; however, they have a high cost and large size. A chemoresistive sensor is based on a sensitive material, in bulk or deposited on a suitable support, upon which the molecular recognition process takes place. Classical Taguchi sensors have a sensitive material in the form of sintered porous ceramic body. Planar-type gas sensors are constituted of a sensing thick/thin layer deposited by chemical or physical methods onto a ceramic substrate with interdigited electrodes. Sensing nanomaterials may be quite unstable under thermal conditions due to their high surface energy leading to severe grain growth, which may result in the degradation of the device performances. Under such operations, the mechanical deterioration of electrodes can also lead to performance degradation due to the possible formation of micro-cracks on the electrode structure. Therefore, the development of novel sensors with higher sensitivities is the goal of much recent research efforts. This paper will give an overview of the commercial sensor-based devices that are currently available in market.