Livestock Measurement Posted in: Height Measurement – Tags: Agriculture and Farming
Laser Rangefinders Automate the Cattle Industry
As a means of automating livestock measurement for cows growing in feedyards, a major beef technologies company from Texas decided to use non-contact measurement by using Acuity laser rangefinders.
Historically in the cattle industry, determining how long to feed cattle and when to market them was done by the feedyard manager subjectively evaluated an entire pen of cattle at a time. When a group or lot of cattle first arrived at the feedyard, the manager went out to their pen and looked at or “eyeballed” those cattle and made a guess at how long he should feed them. Today, using the AR1000 laser distance sensor, the feed manager can collect metrics for each cow by measuring “hip height”, a major indicator for the size of the cow.
The engineers position the AR1000 laser distance sensor on the ceiling and aim the laser spot down to the floor. The sensor is “zeroed” and when a cow passes underneath the laser sensor, the system captures the distance to the top of the cow’s back (hip height) and provides real-time livestock measurement with sensors.
Related Products
AR1000 Laser Distance Sensor
The Acuity AR1000 laser distance sensor can measure up to 30 meters on natural targets and up to 150 meters with a retroreflective target with an accuracy of ± 3 mm. This rugged sensor is built for tough, industrial environments and applications such as fill level measurement and material height monitoring.
AS2100 Accurate Distance Sensor
The AS2100 is a highly accurate laser distance sensor that is designed to work well outdoors, in bright lights, and even on difficult targets such as hot or dark surfaces. With the ability to take accurate measurements (± 1 mm) from distances up to 500 meters away, and a measurement frequency of up to 250 Hz, it is the perfect laser for a wide range of applications.
AR2700 High-Speed Long Range Sensor
Acuity Laser’s ultra-compact rangefinder model. This eye-safe rangefinder has a measurement frequency of up to 40 kHz and can measure distances to natural targets up to 70 meters away or to retroreflective targets 270 meters away. This laser is best for applications that demand high sampling rates.
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