Multi-barn high-resolution camera system for behavioral monitoring of dairy heifers
PI: Jennifer Van Os
Van Os is an assistant professor of animal and dairy sciences and extension specialist at UW–Madison. Her research focuses on understanding, evaluating, and improving the welfare of dairy animals from biological- and social-science perspectives.
Van Os’s project will use a high-resolution camera system to monitor young dairy heifers throughout three barns at the Marshfield Agricultural Research Station. Cameras will provide a top-down view of each pen (56 total), transmitting continuous video or timelapse footage to a central server. Video recordings provide gold standard data for research quantifying animal behavior, and the same footage can be leveraged for a variety of applications.