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Trolleyponder®/EcoTag®

CowtrackTMMonitoring of cattle and sheep at remote sites

"Waar is my beeste?"

The system is used to monitor the farmer's livestock in situations where the animals
  • are collected in kraals,
  • OR are passing through a dip,
  • OR are grazing in remote fields or farms which are far from the farmhouse and are left unattended for days at a time.


Different options
Different farming situations need different solutions. Trolley Scan make a variety of RFID systems that can be applied for different issues
  • A farmer hires a remote field and wants to monitor that all is well in the remote farm field and that the animals are still present. For this solution we suggest our solar powered remote reader that uses a GPRS modem system to send data continuously from the field via the cell network to a computer in the farmhouse, showing when each animal was last recorded and which animals have not been seen in the past 24 hours. More details below.
  • Monitoring of animals being collected at night into a kraal/barn. Here we suggest a fixed RFID reader that logs the passing of all animals and is linked to the computer in the farmhouse to record the passage of each animal and immediately indicate which animals have not yet been gathered.
  • Monitoring of animals at a remote dip. Here we suggest a fixed reader on a tripod that is working from car batteries and sends its data to a laptop in the bakkie at the dip, recording which animals have passed through the dip and which have still to bhe dipped.
  • How it works - monitoring animals into a kraal or passing through a dip
    Each of the animals is fitted with a low power passive transponder incorporated in their eartag. A mains/battery powered reader is placed at the entrance to the kraal/dip. A communications link connects the reader to the computer/laptop. Software in the computer provides reports about when the animals passed the reader and which animals in the herd have not been seen. Other reports can be developed.

    Fixed reader for operating from mains/battery


    System in remote fields

    How it works - Solar powered remote reader
    Each of the animals is fitted with a low power passive transponder incorporated in their eartag. A solar powered reader and communication system is placed next to the watering point/feeding point in the field. Everytime a tagged animal comes within 10 meters of the reader, the identity is logged by the reader and sent to the remote server on the internet. This data is sent to the server in the internet cloud via a communications module in the reader. The server in the internet cloud stores all the data and generates reports.

    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.

    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.

    Solar UHF RFID reader



    UHF eartags with passive transponder encased giving 8 to 10 meter read ranges. No batteries - many year life span. Trolley Scan transponders are based on a proprietary design that gives very long range and which Trolley Scan have been supplying to users in 52 countries for the past 18 years.

    The above description is a brief summary of the data sheet. Click here to get a datasheet

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