KTN Case Study - IceRobotics

IceRobotics’ wearable cow monitoring technology is changing the dairy farming world.

In order to improve profitability and sustainability, dairy farmers need to continuously monitor their cattle health, welfare and productivity. Cattle behaviour, such as the amount of time spent lying or standing, can provide a timely and effective measure of health and fertility. For instance, this can identify when cattle are in heat and ready for artificial insemination – essential as cattle need to calve every year to maintain their milk production. Traditionally this has been achieved by visual assessment of cattle, which is subjective and time-consuming.

However, intelligent remote monitoring enables precision management of dairy farming. The global value of such technology is estimated at over £1bn annually and set to grow substantially through pressure to meet high standards of animal welfare and to reduce environmental impact.

In 2004, Scotland-based company IceRobotics saw a gap in the market and designed a research tool to monitor cattle behaviour on a second-by-second basis Рthis is now marketed as CowAlert and sold in over 30 countries.

KTN has worked with IceRobotics since 2008 to build relationships and collaborative projects helping to take the technology to market. Research opportunities identified by KTN and supported by Innovate UK have helped IceRobotics build a solid pipeline of R&D projects totalling over £2.8M. Smaller awards have also allowed IceRobotics to establish other new collaborations, such as with the University of Liverpool.

To read the full case study of KTN’s work with IceRobotics, click here.