Science Fiction Dictionary
A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z

 

Wearables For Animals Totally A Thing

Is there a way to predict when a cow is about to calve? There's good money in it if you can. Farmer Niall Austin thinks he can, but he needs tech help.


(Moocall CEO Savage with hi-tech product)

Since childhood, Niall had made an observation concerning the distinct tail movements of a cow when it is about to calve and, following the loss of a calf on his own farm, Niall came up with an innovative idea to help farmers pinpoint the timing of labour.

"The loss of a cow or calf is a large financial loss to a farmer, so Niall did some Google research and saw that there was no viable product on the market to help ensure that this did not happen again," Emmet explains.

"So at that point, Niall approached me and I knew a little bit about farming because as a child I had milked some cows and I knew that finding out when a cow was going to calve was a big problem for farmers. They were up in the middle of the night, looking to see what cows were in calf, so that they could intervene, if necessary.

"I knew Niall was on to something when he said that there is definitely something in the way a cow's tail can be interpreted to identify when it is due to calve," Emmet says.

"So we embarked on a 'proof of concept' design at that point and in order to do that, Michael Stanley - who is also the CEO of Cairn Homes and a very good friend of mine - and myself put some initial seed capital into the business and we engaged with various partners to work out if tail movements could in fact be used to tell when a cow was going to calve."

I think wearables for animals is an absolutely crazy idea that will totally work. And this is just the beginning. In Johnny Mnemonic, William Gibson wrote about Jones, a military surplus dolphin cyborg.


(Jones the cyborg dolphin from the movie version)

He rose out of the water, showing us the crusted plates along his sides, a kind of visual pun, his grace nearly lost under armor, clumsy and prehistoric. Twin deformities on either side of his skull had been engineered to house sensor units. Silver lesions gleamed on exposed sections of his gray-white hide.
(Read more about William Gibson's cyborg dolphin)

Animals have been getting wearables before this, though; I just remembered this article about Digital Squab Line (DSL) Has High Bandwidth . Check it out.

Via Independent.

Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 9/30/2016)

Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.

| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |

Would you like to contribute a story tip? It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add it here.

Comment/Join discussion ( 0 )

Related News Stories - (" Engineering ")

Tornyol Microdrone Kills Mosquitoes
'The real border was defended by... a swarm of quasi-independent aerostats.'

PLATO Spacecraft, Hunter Of Habitable Planets, Now Ready
'I ... set my automatic astronomical instruments to searching for a habitable planet.' Edmond Hamilton (1936).

Did The Yautja Have These First?
What a marvel of ingenuity the lit­tle device was! - Harry Bates, 1934.

Jetson ONE Air Races Begin, Can Air Polo Be Far Behind?
'If you're one of those rarities who haven't attended a rocket-polo "carnage", let me tell you it's a colorful affair.' - John Victor Peterson, 1938.

 

Google
  Web TechNovelgy.com   

Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.

 

 

 

 

Science Fiction Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's   1950's
1960's   1970's
1980's   1990's
2000's   2010's

Current News

Natural Gait With Prosthetic Connected To Nervous System
'The leg was to function, in a way, as a servo-mechanism operated by Larry’s brain...'

Woman Marries Computer, Vonnegut's Dream Comes True
'Men are made of protoplasm... Lasts forever.'

Spidery 'Walk Me' Toyota Autonomous Wheel Chair Like Star Wars
Walk along with the emperor.

Dancing Robots Taught Dance Moves
'A clockwork figure would be the thing for you...'

Proof Of Robothood - Not A Person
'Who are you people? - Show 'em.'

Indonesian Clans Battle
'The observation vehicle was of that peculiar variety used in conveying a large number of people across rough terrain.'

The 'Last Mile' In China Crowded With Delivery Robots
Yes, it's a delivery robot. On wheels.

Tornyol Microdrone Kills Mosquitoes
'The real border was defended by... a swarm of quasi-independent aerostats.'

PLATO Spacecraft, Hunter Of Habitable Planets, Now Ready
'I ... set my automatic astronomical instruments to searching for a habitable planet.'

Factory Humanoid Robots Built By Humanoid Robots
'...haven't you a section of the factory where only robot labor is employed?'

iPhone Air Fulfils Jobs' Promise From 2007 - A Giant Screen!
'... oblongs were all over the floor and surfaces.'

ChatGPT Now Participates in Group Chats
'...the city was their laboratory in human psychology.'

iPhone Pocket All Sold Out!
'A long, strong, slender net...'

Did The Yautja Have These First?
What a marvel of ingenuity the lit­tle device was!

Jetson ONE Air Races Begin, Can Air Polo Be Far Behind?
'If you're one of those rarities who haven't attended a rocket-polo "carnage", let me tell you it's a colorful affair.'

Will Space Stations Have Large Interior Spaces Again?
'They filed clumsily into the battleroom, like children in a swimming pool for the first time, clinging to the handholds along the side.'

More SF in the News Stories

More Beyond Technovelgy science news stories

Home | Glossary | Invention Timeline | Category | New | Contact Us | FAQ | Advertise |
Technovelgy.com - where science meets fiction™

Copyright© Technovelgy LLC; all rights reserved.