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Livestock position and health monitoring

Overview
Livestock is a primary source of protein and nutrition for consumers and its demand increases every year globally. To increase its efficiency and production, the meat industry aims to maintain location and activity data for every animal in the field. Read more

A simplified system overview

Positioning and tracking applications rely on a core microcontroller unit operating with MEMS motion sensors to detect animal movement or changes in their position; a dedicated GNSS-based positioning chipset; and a connectivity block for transmitting the acquired data. ST can provide a complete solution for all kinds of animal positioning and tracking devices based on connectivity, geolocation, and motion sensors.

Our products and solutions

ST’s wide portfolio of STM32 microcontrollers based on low-power Cortex-M0 cores, or its ultra-low-power version (M0+), represents the best choice to satisfy challenging performance and power consumption requirements. As geolocation consumes lots of power, the use of ST’s low-power accelerometers to detect when an animal is stationary so the power can be switched off is an important strategy. 

Additionally, low-power RF communication is key for this application. ST’s product portfolio offers a choice of connectivity solutions that are well suited for any need: NFC EEPROM for data logging, animal identification and health history; Bluetooth low energy for seamless connectivity with smart phones for parameter analysis, data collection and parameter setting; and sub-GHz technologies for long-range communication.