The system is used to monitor the farmer's wild game/livestock in situations where the animals are grazing in remote fields or farms which are far from the farmhouse and are left unattended for days at a time.

The equipment in the field is self powered and connected with its own self contained communication system. It uses solar panels and batteries to provide the necessary power.

In the farmhouse the farmer/owner can at anytime log into the internet server and get reports about the herd of animals.
These reports can be of the form

• List all animals currently at water point together with last time of visit to waterhole
• List all animals that have not been identified in the past 8hours/1 day/2 day.
• List of reading data transferred from the remote station to the server
• Reports on current operational status of equipment - battery and solar power
• Other customised reports

The farmer also can edit his database to link the UHF transponder to a description of the particular animal so that the animal description is reported.

The equipment in the farmhouse can be any internet connected device with a browser - even a smartphone for the farmer on the move.

Requirements

1. This product is available to users in South Africa and Namibia.
2. The field which houses the animals and the site of the farmhouse must be within a cellphone coverage zone. Data is transferred from the field site to the server via GSM/GPRS via Vodacom, MTN or CellC cellphone network.

Purchasing
The system comprises of three services namely:

1. The basic system of the RFID reader, solar panels, battery and communication system together with the server software costs.
2. Transponders for each animal containing the passive UHF transponder costs.
3. A monthly charge for data communication and cell phone network access.

Installation
This product is a system in a box concept. The farmer orders the system, which arrives pre-configured in a box. The farmer installs the entire system and gets it operational. Minimal computer skills are needed.

Other configurations
The system can also be used in other situations of remotely managed farms. For example in situations where the farmer has site managers who collect the animals in kraals at night - by having the reader at the gate of the kraal - the owner can verify that all the animals have been collected and put in the kraal from his remote farm house.

Other applications
This product is suitable for monitoring other animals remotely - from cattle to rhinos.
It can also be used in sports events to monitor the passage of contestants at distant remote sites as it records and reports identity and time.

Other configurations
For farmers who have mains electricity at the kraal and who do not need to communicate via a cell network, preferring cable or direct line of sight radio, we have simpler cheaper offerings.