Silent Herdsman 2110002 Silent Herdsman collar sensor, model 2110002 User Manual Title

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SILENT HERDSMAN®
USER GUIDE
Version 2.7
Issue 2.7
1. Table of Contents
1. Table of Contents ................................................................................................ 3
2. About this Guide .................................................................................................. 5
3. Introduction .......................................................................................................... 7
4. Installation ........................................................................................................... 8
4.1.
Overview ....................................................................................................... 8
4.2.
Silent Herdsman® Management Computer ................................................... 8
4.3.
Management Computer Installation ............................................................ 11
4.4.
Data Gathering Base Station....................................................................... 11
5. Silent Herdsman® Collar .................................................................................... 12
5.1.
Standard assembly ..................................................................................... 12
5.2.
Collar sensor ............................................................................................... 12
5.3.
Buckle ......................................................................................................... 13
5.4.
Weight ......................................................................................................... 13
6. Silent Herdsman® Management Computer ........................................................ 14
6.1.
Start up ....................................................................................................... 14
6.2.
Overview ..................................................................................................... 15
6.3.
On Screen Keyboard ................................................................................... 18
7. Activity Monitoring.............................................................................................. 20
7.1.
Overview ..................................................................................................... 20
7.2.
Oestrus Prediction....................................................................................... 20
7.3.
Oestrus Detection Threshold....................................................................... 23
7.4.
Future Oestrus Events ................................................................................ 23
7.5.
Calving Date Indicator ................................................................................. 25
7.6.
Changing Time Period on Activity Graphs .................................................. 26
8. Alerts ................................................................................................................. 28
8.1.
Overview ..................................................................................................... 28
8.2.
Multiple Alerts.............................................................................................. 30
8.3.
System Alerts .............................................................................................. 30
8.4.
Alert Beacon................................................................................................ 30
8.5.
Alerts and Activity........................................................................................ 31
8.6.
Annotations ................................................................................................. 33
8.7.
Email Alerts ................................................................................................. 35
9. Collars ............................................................................................................... 36
9.1.
Introduction ................................................................................................. 36
9.2.
Attaching collars to cows ............................................................................. 37
9.3.
Detaching Collars from Cows ...................................................................... 38
9.4.
Finding Collars ............................................................................................ 40
9.5.
Deleting Collar............................................................................................. 40
9.6.
Saving List of Attached Cows...................................................................... 41
10. Cow Information Table ....................................................................................... 42
10.1.
Overview .................................................................................................. 42
10.2.
Importing Herd Information ...................................................................... 43
10.3.
Cow Groups ............................................................................................. 44
11. Settings .............................................................................................................. 45
11.1.
Overview .................................................................................................. 45
11.2.
Activity Display ......................................................................................... 45
11.3.
System Settings ....................................................................................... 46
11.4.
Group Settings ......................................................................................... 47
11.5.
Data Exchange ........................................................................................ 48
11.6.
Data Backup ............................................................................................ 51
11.7.
Reports .................................................................................................... 51
12. System Functions .............................................................................................. 54
12.1.
Online User Guide ................................................................................... 54
12.2.
System Power Down ................................................................................ 54
12.3.
Manual Starting of Silent Herdsman ........................................................ 55
Appendix A - Base Stations...................................................................................... 56
Appendix B – InterHerd Export Events ..................................................................... 58
Appendix C - Collar Upgrade ................................................................................... 60
Introduction ........................................................................................................... 60
Upgrading Collars ................................................................................................. 61
Appendix D - Regulatory Information ....................................................................... 65
Declaration of Conformance ................................................................................. 65
Waste Electric and Electronic Equipment ............................................................. 67
Issue 2.7
2. About this Guide
Related Documents
•
GOT-5120T-830 Series User Manual
Abbreviations
•
•
ETS Embedded Technology Solutions
SHM Silent Herdsman
Typographical Conventions
The following typographical conventions are used in this manual:
Red text indicates a cross-reference to information within the document set you are
currently reading. Click the red text to go to the referenced item
Blue underlined text indicates a link to a Web page. Click blue-underlined text to
browse the specified Web site.
Italics denotes the following items:
•
•
References to other documents:
Emphasis in text:
Information, provide addition information to help in better use of
system.
Critical warning, high lights actions that could cause damage to the
system.
Warning, high lights non critical actions to avoid.
Online Resources
Website addresses in this document are listed without http:// in front of the address
because most current web browsers do not require it. If you use an older web
browser, you may have to add http:// in front of the web address.
See http://www.embeddedtech.co.uk for further information.
Copyright and Trademarks
‘Silent Herdsman’ and Embedded Technology Solutions Logo are registered
trademarks of Embedded Technology Solutions Ltd.
Issue 2.7
Other brands and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their
respective holders.
© 2007 - 2014 Embedded Technology Solutions Ltd. All rights reserved.
Issue 2.7
3. Introduction
The Silent Herdsman® system is a new generation of technology that improves
significantly the capabilities of automated detection and reporting of the oestrus cycle
for cows.
The system monitors the herd around the clock to ensure that no oestrus events are
missed and the optimal time for fertilization is alerted to achieve maximum efficiency
of the herd for milk production.
Data collection and alerting has been designed to fit in with the normal working
routine of the farm by accessing data on the cow while it is in the milking or holding
areas. Therefore no additional time is required within the parlour and alerts are
produced by the management computer when a cow requires attention.
Issue 2.7
4. Installation
4.1.
Overview
The Silent Herdsman system consists of the following equipment
•
•
•
•
Silent Herdsman® Management Computer
Network router
Silent Herdsman® Data Gathering Basestation
Silent Herdsman® Collar
Figure 1 – Silent Herdsman® System Overview
Silent Herdsman® Management Computer
4.2.
The management computer is designed with a rugged protection, plastic front bezel
with a NEMA4 (IP65) grade of protection. To improve reliability no fans are used for
cooling and heat is removed by air vents and conducted through the case.
Desktop or Wall Mounted Screen
The management computer has air vents at the rear, therefore liquids or spray must
be kept away from the rear of the computer unit.
No liquids or spray should enter the rear of the computer
Issue 2.7
Figure 2 - Silent Herdsman® Management Computer
However the front of the Management Computer is IP65 rated which guarantees
waterproof and dustproof protection when using the screen, ensuring reliable
operation when using the touch screen.
Figure 3 illustrates the location of the I/O on the management computer
Figure 3 – I/O locations on Silent Herdsman® Management Computer
Wall Mounted Enclosure
For harsher environments, the Silent Herdsman is available with the PC mounted in
a IP65 enclosure to provide all round protection to dust and moisture.
Issue 2.7
Figure 4 - Silent Herdsman® Wall mounted enclosure
Figure 5 - I/O locations on Silent Herdsman® Management Computer (Enclosure)
Note that the wall mounted enclosure has two USB connectors available at the front.
These can be used to connect a keyboard/mouse or USB Drive.
Issue 2.7
10
4.3.
Management Computer Installation
The management computer will be mounted to a secure fixing such as a wall near a
power outlet or on a desk stand.
In typical installations, only two connections will be made. These connections are the
supply from the mains power socket and the second connection is the network
connection which is connected to the network router that communications with the
base stations.
The touch screen will be used for both data display and data input.
‘1 Power switch’ must be pressed to power up computer after power outage.
4.4.
Data Gathering Base Station
The data gathering base stations provide a wireless connection between the
management computer and the collars attached to the cows being monitored. This
enables the data to be collected from the cows automatically without human
intervention and ensures no delays during the milking process.
In order for the base stations to have an opportunity to retrieve the data stored
in the cow’s collar, the cow must be within 30 meters of a base station for at
least 20 mins a day.
The ideal location for base stations is above the cow at approximately 3.5
meters, e.g. on the parlour roof or in an area where the herd congregates
such as the holding pen.
Issue 2.7
11
5. Silent Herdsman® Collar
5.1.
Standard assembly
The collar attached to the cow comprises of 4 different components;
1.
2.
3.
4.
Sensor
Strap
Buckle
Weight
5.2.
Collar sensor
Figure 6 illustrates how the strap is attached to the collar sensor by running the strap
through the two openings of the collar sensor.
The uncovered side of the sensor box placed facing away from the cow’s
neck. Also the unique number for the sensor box is visible on this front side of
the box and on the back side of the box underneath the strap.
Figure 6 – Strap position on Collar Sensor
To ensure maximum performance of the Silent Herdsman, the collar sensor must be
placed on the upper part of the neck as illustrated in Figure 7
Issue 2.7
12
Preferred
location for
collar sensor
Lowest point for
location for collar
sensor
Weight
Figure 7 – Location for collar sensor on neck
5.3.
Buckle
The buckle is used to adjust the length of the collar to ensure that it fits neatly and
comfortably around the neck.
5.4.
Weight
The strap is passed through the opening on the weight before the buckle is secured.
The weight ensures that the collar sensor remains in the optimum location on the
neck, see Figure 7.
Issue 2.7
13
6. Silent Herdsman® Management
Computer
6.1.
Start up
When the Silent Herdsman management computer is turned on, it will automatically
launch the monitoring software with a screen similar to Figure 8.
Figure 8 – Opening Screen of Silent Herdsman Software
If the software does not start up automatically or the Silent Herdsman management
software has been shutdown, it can be restarted by double clicking the Silent
Herdsman icon in the Windows ‘Start’ menu or from the desktop as shown in Figure
9.
Issue 2.7
14
Figure 9 – Silent Herdsman icon to double click to start system
6.2.
Overview
The Silent Herdsman application is organised with the cow and collar information
displayed on the left hand side and the operational information on the cows
accessed through a series of Tabs along the top as indicated in Figure 10.
Issue 2.7
15
Figure 10: Silent Herdsman application user interface
The cow information can be ordered according to either the “Local ID” or the “Collar
ID” by selecting the appropriate title at the top of the column in the cow list.
Figure 11: Silent Herdsman application – sorting cow list
Issue 2.7
16
Operational features that are significant such as cows in oestrus (shown red in the
above image) or a malfunctioning collar are sorted to the top of the cow table by
pressing the “Prioritise” key.
To select a cow for detailed information, click on the respective icon for the cow
number which will then be highlighted as shown below in Figure 12. The Cow ID,
Group and the Collar ID will also be displayed in the activity window.
Figure 12: Click on any cow to access information
The icons on the left hand side of the display provide a visual cue of important alerts
within the Silent Herdsman system, the meaning of each of these icons is given in
Table 1.
Normal Cow with no pending alerts
Oestrus Detected
Collar working normally
Collar Error
Table 1 – Icons used in Silent Herdsman Software
Issue 2.7
17
6.3.
On Screen Keyboard
By default the Silent Herdsman system is provided as a touch screen with no
physical keyboard or mouse attached. In order to enter text into the system a virtual
keyboard is provided.
The virtual keyboard will appear automatically when input is required from the user,
however it can also be forced to appear by pressing the keyboard button as
illustrated in Figure 13
Figure 13: Location of keyboard icon
When the keyboard button is pressed the keyboard appears as shown in Figure 14
(unless the “Physical keyboard” option is set in the settings tab, see section 11.3 on
page 46).
Issue 2.7
18
Figure 14: Virtual Keyboard
Issue 2.7
19
7. Activity Monitoring
7.1.
Overview
The main display for reviewing the behaviour and history of a cow is shown after
selecting the ‘Activity’ tab. This display is shown in Figure 15 with the primary
information provided using a time line plot. The collar monitors the cows throughout
the day and when in range of a base station the data is analysed and uploaded by
the herd monitoring software which is then displayed in the Activity tab.
When the cow is selected from the list of cow Local IDs on the left, the associated
activity information is displayed in the graph area as shown in Figure 15. Details of
the cow selected is shown below the graph, which displays the cow’s Local ID, Herd
ID, Group and Collar number, this is highlighted in the Figure 15.
Figure 15 – Display of cow activity
For more information on annotating the activity plot see section 8.6
‘Annotations’ on page 33.
7.2.
Oestrus Prediction
The activity plot displays two types of graphs.
1. Yellow activity graph - provides information on the general activity of the cow.
2. Red Oestrus indication graph - analysed data representing the likelihood of
cow being in oestrus.
Issue 2.7
20
The higher the value of the peak of the red, oestrus indication graph, then the higher
the likelihood the cow is in oestrus. When this red graph exceeds the sensitivity
threshold an alert is generated and an ‘Oestrus Detected’ annotation will
automatically be generated and placed on the graph.
The yellow graph provides additional information on the cow and reflects the general
activity of the cow. By observing the yellow activity graph this can be used to verify
an oestrus detection as an increase in general activity is typically observed.
In many instances the activity level, yellow graph, may be seen to exhibit a sizeable
spike and will be dependent on the general operations of the farm. For example it is
common to see a spike in the activity graph at milking times. However, if this is not
associated with a red oestrus indication graph then the cow is unlikely to be in
oestrus.
Figure 16 highlights the two examples of oestrus detections where the large red,
oestrus indication graphs and a coincident large yellow, activity graph can be
observed.
Figure 16 – Activity and Oestrus detection plots
It should be noted that small ‘spikes’ may appear on the red graph; these typically
indicate a change of environment for the cow. These spikes are commonly seen
when the collar is first attached to a cow. Figure 17 illustrates an example of where a
collar has been removed from a cow for a period of time (this is observed where the
yellow graph is not visible) and then a collar has been added. For the initial 72 hours
after the collar has been placed on a cow the red oestrus indicator graph shows
spikes as the collar ‘tunes’ to the activity of the cow, these can been ignored.
Issue 2.7
21
The Silent Herdsman collar uses the first 72 hours after been attached to a
cow to understand ‘normal’ behaviour for that particular cow. Any alerts and high red
oestrus indicator graphs during this period should be ignored.
The Silent Herdsman collar will also generate these spikes when significant
changes to animal behaviour are observed, i.e. moving from being housed over
winter to grass.
Collar on
Figure 17 – Illustration of new collar attachment
The Silent Herdsman system flags an alert when the oestrus prediction (red graph)
crosses a threshold. The threshold for the herd is shown as a red dashed line, see
Figure 18.
When the threshold line is displayed in red, this indicates that the herd
threshold level is being used. If the threshold line is displayed in green, then a
separate threshold level is used for the group that the cow is part of. More details on
group thresholds can be found in section 10.3 on page 44 and herd thresholds in
section 11.2 on page 45.
Issue 2.7
22
7.3.
Oestrus Detection Threshold
Threshold
Red - Herd
Figure 18 – Threshold for Oestrus detection
7.4.
Future Oestrus Events
The Silent Herdsman system will provide an indication of when the next oestrus
event is expected, provided ‘Calved’, ‘Served’ or ‘Heat Observed’ annotations have
been entered into the system, see section 8.6 about annotations. The next expected
oestrus event, 17-24 days since last event is highlighted with a graded red bar above
the graph and is illustrated in Figure 19.
Issue 2.7
23
Next Oestrus
expected
Figure 19 – Next Oestrus Expected indicator
To aid in finding which cows are due to come in heat, pressing the ‘Due on Heat’
button illustrated in Figure 20, only the cows that are due in heat based on the
annotations of ‘Calved’, ‘Served’ and ‘Heat Observed’ will be shown in the cow list on
the left.
When the cow is annotated with a ‘PD+’ to indicate pregnancy this will remove
the cow from the ‘Due on Heat’ list until the animal has calved.
Issue 2.7
24
Figure 20 – Shortlist of cows due in heat
7.5.
Calving Date Indicator
When the dates for services are annotated within Silent Herdsman a graded green
bar is displayed above the graph to indicate the estimated time for calving and is
illustrated in Figure 21.
Indicator for
calving date
Figure 21 – Indicator for calving date
Issue 2.7
25
7.6.
Changing Time Period on Activity Graphs
The Silent Herdsman software stores the activity graphs, oestrus indicator graphs
and annotations for the previous 18 months for each cow. All of this data can be
displayed in the ‘Activity’ tab. The time period and the number of days that are
displayed can be selected, Figure 22 show the controls for changing the dates for
which data is displayed.
There are 6 levels of zoom on the data which are selected by pressing either the ‘1’,
‘10’, ‘30’, ‘60’, ‘90’ or ‘120’ buttons,

1 day – Each graph section shows 2 hours
o Detailed examination of when oestrus detected

10 days – Each graph section shows 1 day
o Activity of cow leading up to oestrus

30 days – Each graph section shows 2 days
o Visibility of previous oestrus event

60 days – Each graph section shows 10 days
o Visibility of previous 2 oestrus events

90 days – Each graph section shows 10 days
o Visibility of previous 3+ oestrus events

120 days – Each graph section shows 15 days.
o Visibility of all events from calving
Figure 22 – Changing the activity time period
Issue 2.7
26
By touching the graph on the touch screen or passing the mouse cursor over the
graph, the Silent Herdsman system dynamical displays the current date and time
with a dotted line indicator and text, see Figure 23. This is a useful feature to identify
when a particular event occur.
Figure 23 – Identifying date and time on activity graph
Issue 2.7
27
8. Alerts
8.1.
Overview
A detailed record of alerts is displayed in the ‘Alerts’ tab. These alerts can be
accessed either for one specific cow or for the whole herd. To get the alerts for a
single cow, select the appropriate cow from the main list on the left hand side, the
alerts relevant to the selected cow will be displayed. An example of the ‘Alerts’ tab is
shown below in Figure 24.
Figure 24: Cow Alert Table
The top section of the Alerts tab displays a list of the currently active alerts that
requires action. Figure 24 shows an Oestrus Detection alert that needs attention.
The bottom section contains historical events such as services, collar on/off,
treatments etc. All the alerts can also be viewed on the activity tab.
In addition to looking at only the active alerts on a single cow it is possible to display
all of the current alerts for the complete herd. This is done by clicking on the ‘Show
All’ button as displayed in Figure 25. This will return a complete list of active alerts
and the times that they occurred. An example of this is shown below.
Issue 2.7
28
Figure 25: ‘Show All’ Event Summary Display
Pressing the column headings ‘Cow ID’ will sort the alerts based on the cow
ID, see Figure 26.
Figure 26 – Alerts sorted by Cow ID
Issue 2.7
29
Once an alert has been dealt with the user has the option to delete the alert. This is
done by selecting the alert in question and pressing the delete button.
8.2.
Multiple Alerts
To delete all the displayed alerts, press the ‘Delete All’ button. This can be done for
all alerts for the selected cow. To delete all alerts on the system for all cows press
the ‘Show All’ first.
8.3.
System Alerts
System alerts are indicated by a flashing exclamation mark on the system alerts
button. These may be generated for example if a basestation fails to report or a
message is left on the system by a user pressing the ‘Leave Message’ button. The
alert will continue to flash until the message is cleared. Pressing the flashing
exclamation mark will switch screens to the alerts tab and show all system alerts.
Leave
message
System
Alerts
Figure 27 – Flashing ‘System Alerts’
8.4.
Alert Beacon
The Silent Herdsman system monitors 24/7 and if an alert arrives in the system
when the computer is un-attended, the computer will display the flashing ‘red cow
beacon’, see Figure 28.
Issue 2.7
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Figure 28 – Flashing ‘Red Cow Beacon’
Touching the screen will remove the flashing red cow and show the Silent Herdsman
screen. This beacon will be triggered every 10 minutes if there is an alert on the
system.
By default the windows screen saver will come on after 30 minutes of inactivity and
will turn the monitor off. The monitor may be started again by pressing the screen.
8.5.
Alerts and Activity
Alerts can also be examined and managed in the ‘Activity’ tab which displays the
alerts on a timeline together with the cow activity.
Figure 29 shows the typical display of the cow activity with Silent Herdsman
indicating that an oestrus event has been detected.
Select ‘served’ to
delete oestrus
detection and add
served annotation
Figure 29 – Oestrus Detection conversion to Served
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An ‘Oestrus Detected’ alert can be converted to a ‘Served’ event by selecting the
‘Oestrus Detected’ alert (touch the ‘Oestrus Detected’ text to select) and then press
the ‘Served’ button as shown in Figure 29.
The system will ask for a sire name, enter the name of the sire used. If the sire
information does not need to be recorded, press ‘OK’ without entering any text.
Figure 30 – Oestrus Detection convert to served
Assuming the sire ‘Prize Bull’ is entered, the display will change to that shown in
Figure 31 and switching to the ‘Alerts’ tab, see Figure 32, will show the ‘Served’
event and the associate sire’s name, in this case ‘Prize Bull’. If no sire name is
entered, only ‘Served’ will be displayed for the event. Additionally a ‘Heat Observed’
annotation will also be placed where the detection of the Oestrus occurred.
Figure 31: Resulting Served Event
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Figure 32: Alerts show name of Sire
This conversion process will change the annotation on the activity chart and also
remove the alert from the alert list.
Note the cow icon changes from a red cow to a normal cow.
Note the ‘Served’ annotation is placed at today’s date rather than the original
date of the ‘Oestrus Detection’ annotation. ‘Heat Observed’ is placed at the detection
date.
8.6.
Annotations
The activity trace can be annotated by accessing the drop down menu and calendar.
This allows information relating to the cows welfare to be recorded, for example
treatment by farm staff on a particular day, vet treatment, observation of illness, or if
the cow was served, see Figure 33. Once entered, this information will be tagged to
the cow so that it is always displayed as shown in Figure 34. Select the event that
you wish to record, select the date and then press ‘Annotate’.
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User
selectable
Figure 33 – Selection of annotation types
Annotation Added
Annotate
Select Date
Figure 34 – Annotation added
Issue 2.7
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If an error has been made with an annotation, select the annotated event by touching
the text of the desired annotation and pressing the ‘Delete’ button to remove.
8.7.
Email Alerts
The Silent Herdsman system will automatically email alerts to all emails in the farm
tab, up to 3 email addresses are available, if the system is connected to the internet.
Complete the information about the farm and enter the email addresses and press
‘Save’. Emails will be sent as alerts are created.
Email address
Save button
Figure 35 – Add email for alerts
Issue 2.7
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9. Collars
9.1.
Introduction
The ‘Collar Assignments’ tab enables the management of Silent Herdsman collars
available on farm. Selecting the ‘Collar Assignments’ tab will display a screen similar
to Figure 36
Figure 36 – Collar assignments Tab
A list of all collars available on farm is displayed where collar numbers with the ‘blue
collar’ icon indicate that these collars are not attached to cows. Collar numbers with
a cow icon to the left indicate that these collars are attached to cows and are
currently monitoring the cow for oestrus. The Local ID of the cow that the collars are
attached to is displayed in the ‘Local ID’ column.
The last column, ‘Version’ indicates the version of the Artificial Intelligence software
that is running on that specific collar. This is used to identify collars that can be
upgraded, see section 0 on page 60 for more details.
Collars can be sorted in different ways by pressing the heading at the top of
each column, the sorting is as follows




‘O’ – sort by unattached and then attached collars. Unattached at top of list
‘Collar ID’ – Sort by value of collar ID
‘Local ID’ – Sort by Local ID of cow. Unattached collars at bottom of list
‘Version’ – Sort by version of software on collar
Issue 2.7
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9.2.
Attaching collars to cows
In the same way that each cow has a unique ID number, the collars that are attached
to the cow, each have their own unique ID number, which is visible on the outside of
the collar.
The collars will automatically register their IDs with the farm computer within 1.5
hours of the installation. Any additional collars that are purchased after installation
will also automatically register.
When a collar is placed on a cow, the monitor software must be updated by
assigning the collar ID to the corresponding cow ID.
The collar ID can be found on the outside of the sensor box
A collar is assigned by first selecting the ‘Collar Assignments’ tab at the top of the
screen and the display will change as shown in Figure 37
2 – Select
unattached Collar
3 – Press ‘Attach’
1 – Select Cow
Figure 37 – Display of Collar assignments
The assignment is then carried out by selecting the appropriate cow ID and selecting
the relevant collar ID and pressing the ‘Attach’ button, which records this attachment
in the monitor software Figure 37 shows a collar and a cow selected for attachment.
After the ‘Attach’ button has been pressed to confirm the assignment the display will
change to Figure 38 where it will be seen that cow ID ‘115’ and collar ID ‘NMR16436’
are now paired and collar ‘NMR16436’ is no longer available for assignment.
Issue 2.7
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Figure 38: Display of assigned collar
9.3.
Detaching Collars from Cows
If a collar has been removed from a cow, the monitor software must be updated to
reflect that the collar have been detached from the cow, otherwise it will continue to
try and obtain data from the collar.
To detach a collar in the monitor software, select the ‘Collar Assignments’ tab at the
top of the screen to get the display as shown in Figure 39.
The process to detach a collar ID from a cow is to select the appropriate cow ID from
the main herd list on the left hand side. The example in Figure 39 has selected cow
ID ‘15’.
Pressing the ‘Detach’ button will detach the collar from the cow.
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Figure 39 – Display of selected cow
The display will be updated, see Figure 40, to show that the Cow ID, ‘15’, and collar
ID, ‘SHM25782’, are again available if they need to be attached in the future.
Figure 40: Collar detached
Issue 2.7
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The same button is used for ‘Attach’ and ‘Detach’ which changes context
automatically. The button will display ‘Detach’ when a collared cow is selected and
will display ‘Attach’ when an uncollared cow AND unattached collar are both
selected.
9.4.
Finding Collars
A search tool is provided to find a particular collar number, this is done by pressing
the ‘Find Collar’ button and a window will appear as shown in Figure 41.
Figure 41 – Search window for Collars
Enter the number of the collar and press ‘OK’ to search for the collar in the list, when
the collar is found, it will appear highlighted. This search function will find a collar
whether it is attached to a cow or unattached.
9.5.
Deleting Collar
If a collar is no longer used on the farm, first select the collar from the list and then
press the ‘delete’ button. The Collar will be removed from the system. If the collar
was attached to a cow the collar is automatically detached from the cow before
deletion.
There is the option to delete all the unattached collars from the system using the
‘Reset…’ button. If the collars are still available on the farm then they will
automatically re-register themselves on the Silent Herdsman system.
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9.6.
Saving List of Attached Cows
If a record is required of the list of cows which have collars attached, the ‘Save List’
allows an Excel compatible CSV file to be save of the Local ID’s and Collar ID’s
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10. Cow Information Table
10.1.
Overview
Relevant cow information is displayed in the “Cow Information” tab which can be
accessed in the event of a collar alert or at any time the farmer chooses to do so.
Figure 42: Cow information table
If the data for a cow needs to be changed then pressing the ‘Edit’ button will allow
the data to be updated. An editing window will appear together with an on screen
keyboard to enter text as shown in Figure 43.
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Figure 43 – Editing of Cow Information
If a cow is no longer with the herd and the data is no longer required, selecting
‘Delete’ will remove the cow and all associated information from the system.
10.2.
Importing Herd Information
When the information for a large number of cows needs to be entered, it is possible
to import the data from an external file. The file needs to be a CSV format and the
fields and associated order, is as follows






Eartag – Ear Tag ID
Cow Number – Local ID
Breed
Date of birth - format yyyy-mm-dd^hh:mm:ss
Last calving date – (youngstock do not have a calving date), format as above
Lactation number – parity
Pressing the ‘Import’ button and selecting the appropriate CSV file will then start the
import process.
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An example of the contents of the CSV file is
UK123456781,10001,SR,01/01/2001 00:00,01/01/2011 00:00,1
UK123456782,10002,SR,02/02/2002 00:00,02/02/2011 00:00,2
UK123456783,10003,SR,03/03/2003 00:00,03/03/2011 00:00,3
10.3.
Cow Groups
Cows can be placed into separate groups by pressing one of the ‘Select’ buttons
shown in Figure 44 to place the cow into that group.
Figure 44: Cow Group Selection
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11. Settings
11.1.
Overview
Silent Herdsman is a flexible and expandable system, the computer enables many
features of the software to be configured by the user. The ‘Settings’ tab contains the
controls that allow settings to be change on the computer.
Figure 45: Main Settings tab
11.2.
Activity Display
It is possible to change the scale of the activity graphs and the oestrus graphs to
effectively magnify or reduction the scale on the axis. Figure 46 shows the settings
window for the activity graph display. Press the ‘+’ or ‘-‘ button to increase or
decrease the relevant value, or alternatively type in the number directly.
Pressing the ‘refresh’ button will update the image of the graph to feed back what
impact the selected settings will have.
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Figure 46: Activity Graph Settings
11.3.
System Settings
Customisation of system operations can be done by pressing the ‘Settings’ button
under ‘System Settings’ where the following dialog will appear.
Figure 47: System Configuration Settings
By default the system deletes any active alerts such as ‘Oestrus Detection’ after 30
days. However this period can be changed by the user with a minimum allowable
setting of 3 days. This is set in the ‘Keep alerts for’ value.
If a physical keyboard is connected to the Silent Herdsman computer then there is
no requirement for the on screen keyboard. Switching keyboard mode from ‘Virtual’
to ‘Physical’ by pressing the ‘Keyboard’ button will disable the pop up on screen
keyboard.
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The ’SIM #’ and ‘Farm ID’ values are for use by ETS and should not be changed
11.4.
Group Settings
Cows can be placed into one of four groups. Selecting the group settings allows
different characteristics to be set up for each group.
Group Labels
Pressing the ‘Rename’ button for a particular group allows the label text for that
group to be changed.
Figure 48: Group Settings
Out of Range cows
If cows will be out of range from a base station for more that 1-2 days, the Silent
Herdsman system will flag up that there is an error with the collar since it is not able
to communicate with it. Pressing the ‘Suppress Report Failure’ toggle button will
disable the error reporting feature which can then be re-enabled when the cows are
back in range of the base station.
Group Thresholds
Different cows can exhibit different oestrus behaviour and show different levels of
activity. It is possible to set different trigger thresholds for each group of cows in the
system. Pressing the ‘Enable Threshold’ toggle button for a group will indicate that
the group threshold shall be used rather than the herd threshold.
When the group threshold is enabled, the threshold level will be shown in green
rather than red in the activity graph for any cow in that group.
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11.5.
Data Exchange
Silent Herdsman allows the exchange of event data with systems that support the
Silent Herdsman data exchange format. Event data can be imported to and exported
from Silent Herdsman in the event import/export settings page.
Exporting data
Data is exported by selecting the ‘Export Data’ button in the Settings tab, see Figure
49Error! Reference source not found..
Figure 49: Exporting Data
A dialog box is displayed requesting the location and file name of where to store the
data, this can be on a removal USB drive if the data is to be transferred to another
computer.
After pressing ‘Save’ the data is exported and saved to the selected file.
Importing Data
Data is imported by selecting the ‘Import Data’ button in the Settings tab, see Figure
50.
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Figure 50: Importing Data
A dialog box opens to allow the data file to be selected and this is then imported into
Silent Herdsman.
Settings for Data Exchange
The event data to be imported and exported can be configured by selecting the
‘Settings’ button shown in Figure 51
Figure 51: Configuring Data Exchange settings
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This will open the dialog box shown in Figure 52. By checking the box for each
annotation, this will either enable or disable that annotation. Figure 52 shows the
annotations that will be imported, if there is a tick in the selection box then the
corresponding event data will be imported and displayed on the activity graph and in
the alert event history in the ‘Alerts’ tab.
Figure 52: Import Settings
Silent Herdsman provides separate control for the events that are exported. The
events to be exported are controlled by selecting the ‘Export’ tab in the dialog box
and again checking the appropriate selection boxes for the events to be exported,
see Figure 53.
Figure 53: Export Settings
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11.6.
Data Backup
It is recommended to back up data regularly to a USB drive. To carry out a backup,
insert the USB drive in one of the USB slots located on the lower edge of the
computer
Go to the ‘Settings’ tab and press the ‘Save Backup’ button, a request to select the
file location for saving the data is given, when selected a backup will be made.
Figure 54: Data Backup
TIP – If a USB Stick is left in the computer, the system will automatically create a
nightly backup onto the USB stick.
11.7.
Reports
A number of reports can be generated by the Silent Herdsman system by pressing
the ‘Reports…’ button and selecting the desired option.
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Figure 55: Print List
When the ‘Reports…’ button is pressed the following dialog box appears.
Figure 56: Report selection
The user can select a from the following report types:

Service history: last 3 services, calving date and predicted oestrus date

Pregnancy Information: Pregnancy diagnosis date, last service data, parity
and predicted calving date

PD session: Lists animals last served 30-85 days ago and possibly pregnant

Insemination session: Details cows currently flagged on heat.
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
Collar and Cow Report: Lists the cows on farm and which if any collar is
attached

Cows not served in 30-85 days: Lists the cows which have not been
annotated as served for more than 30 days since calving and less than 85
days since the last service.
The user can also choose which cow groups to include in the report by pressing the
appropriate group button and toggling it to include or exclude the group. By default
all groups are selected.
Press the ‘Show’ button to view the selected report.
Print Report
Export to Excel, Word, PDF
Selecting arrows will
sort report by the data
in that column in
ascending or
descending order
Figure 57: Sample Service Report
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12. System Functions
12.1.
Online User Guide
This user guide is available on the computer. To access the user manual, go to the
‘About’ tab, which will give the display shown in Figure 58.
Access user
Manual
Figure 58 – Accessing the Online User Guide
12.2.
System Power Down
If the electricity supply to the farm computer is to be removed, the computer must be
shutdown first. This is done by going to the ‘About’ tab and pressing the ‘Shutdown’
button, see Figure 59, to go to the windows screen. From here, select the ‘Start’
menu and then Shutdown to power down the computer.
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Shutdown
computer
Figure 59 – Shutting down computer
12.3.
Manual Starting of Silent Herdsman
Should the monitoring software be shutdown, double-click the Silent Herdsman logo
on the desktop.
Double Click to
manual start Silent
Herdsman
Figure 60 – Manual Starting of Silent Herdsman Monitoring Software
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Appendix A - Base Stations
Base stations are used to bridge the communications between the collars on the
cows and the Farm computer.
Base stations will automatically register with the computer when installed. The date
of the last received communications from the collars is also displayed on this screen.
Figure 61 – Display of base station on farm
It is possible to edit the info for the base stations, with specific information, such as
the location of the base station and a user friendly name of the base station.
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Figure 62 – Editing Base station info
To delete a base station from the list; select it from the list and press the ‘Delete’
button, similarly to test that communications is operationally between the
management computer and the base station, select the base station and press the
‘Refresh’ button, the status should show that it is connected.
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Appendix B – InterHerd Export
Events
To export recent events from InterHerd and generate a valid file to import into the
Silent Herdsman, select the “Data Links…” option from the File menu.
Figure 63 – InterHerd Data Links selection
Select Synchronise -> Export latest events
Figure 64 – InterHerd Export Latest Events
This loads the following dialogue box:
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Figure 65 – InterHerd Export Date
Select the date from which events are to be exported and press “Begin”. At the
prompt select the location to store the file with the exported data. The resultant file
can be transferred to the Silent Herdsman computer.
Figure 66 – InterHerd Export File Selection
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Appendix C - Collar Upgrade
Introduction
The Silent Herdsman system is a scalable and upgradeable system that not only
allows the upgrading of the software on the Silent Herdsman management computer
but also upgrading of the software on the collars also.
If a newer version of software for the collars is available, this can be applied by using
the upgrade capability within the Silent Herdsman user interface. This upgrader is
access through the ‘Collar Assignments’ tab as shown in Figure 67 and selecting the
‘Upgrade…’ button.
Figure 67 – Collar assignments Tab
When ‘Upgrade…’ is pressed a screen similar to Figure 68 is displayed which
displays the version that the collars will be upgraded to.
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Version collars
will be
upgraded to
Figure 68 – Collar Upgrade Version
Upgrading Collars
Due to the large amount of data transferred during upgrading between the collar and
the management computer, a maximum of 5 collars can be upgraded simultaneously
to ensure that oestrus detection continues normally.
Collars must be detached from cows before they are available in the upgrade list and
during upgrade the collars must remain within approximately 5 meters of the base
station to ensure good communications.
As an estimate, upgrading 5 collars can take from 3 – 24 hours, depending on the
number of collars on farm and distance from base station.
To pick collars for upgrading, select the collar from the Available collars list and
press the ‘>>>’ button. This will transfer the collar to the Selected collar list.
If an error is made in the selection, select the collar in error from the Selected list and
press the ‘<<<’ button to return it to the Available collars.
To find a specific collar from a large list, type the collar number into the ‘Find Collar’
box and the Available collar list will be limited to the collars that match the value
entered.
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Moves available
collars to selected
list
Moves selected
collars to
available list
Figure 69 – Selecting collars are upgrading
When the collars have been selected for upgrade, press the ‘Upgrade’ button to
begin the upgrade process. A message box will appear with a reminder to keep the
collars near the base station. Pressing ‘OK’ will display the collar upgrade status
window, Figure 70.
Figure 70 – Collar Upgrade Status
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Pressing ‘Close’ will close the status window and return to the normal Silent
Herdsman screen to enable normal operation of the system. The collar upgrades will
continue in the background.
Pressing the ‘Upgrade…’ button in the ‘Collar Assignments’ tab will return to the
collar upgrade status window while upgrades are in progress.
When the upgrade has finished successfully the status window will show ‘Completed’
against the collar, see Figure 71 and the new version number. The collars are now
ready for attaching to a cow. Pressing ‘Continue’ will close the status window and
return to the collar selection window for upgrading further collars
Figure 71 – Collar Upgrade Completed
If an upgrade fails to complete a screen similar to Figure 72 is displayed showing the
collar that has failed to complete. Selecting ‘Continue’ will return to the collar
selection window.
The failed collar can be re-selected and the upgrade tried again, if the issue
continues, contact your supplier.
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Figure 72 – Collar Upgrade Failed
Issue 2.7
64
Appendix D - Regulatory Information
Declaration of Conformance
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65
EC Declaration of Conformity to R&TTE
Directive 1999/5/EC
Manufacturer :
Embedded Technology Solutions Ltd,
Ladywell Business Center,
Glasgow,
G4 0UW
Product / Apparatus :
Silent Herdsman
Type Number :
ETSFANSB
Variants include :
All country variations
Declaration
I declare that above product is in conformity with the essential requirements and
other relevant requirements of the R&TTE Directive (1999/5/EC). The product is in
conformity with the following standards and/or other normative documents:
Article 3.1a: (Standard(s)) used to show compliance with LVD, 2006/95/EC:
EN60950-1;2006
Article 3.1b: (Standard(s)) used to show compliance with EMC
2004/108/EC: EN301 489-17 V2.1.1, EN301 489-1 V1.8.1
Directive,
Article 3.2:
Standard(s) used to show compliance: EN300 328 V1.7.1 (2006-10)
Signature:
......................................................................
Name:
Ivan Andonovic
Title:
Chief Technology Officer
Date:
29th August 2011
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Waste Electric and Electronic Equipment
User Information for Consumer Products Covered by EU Directive 2002/96/EC
on Waste Electric and Electronic Equipment (WEEE)
This document contains important information for users with regards to the proper
disposal and recycling of Embedded Technology Solutions products. Consumers are
required to comply with this notice for all electronic products bearing the following
symbol:
European Directive 2002/96/EC requires that the equipment bearing this symbol on
the product and/or its packaging must not be disposed of with unsorted municipal
waste. The symbol indicates that this product should be disposed of separately from
regular household waste streams. It is your responsibility to dispose of this and other
electric and electronic equipment via designated collection facilities appointed by the
government or local authorities. Correct disposal and recycling will help prevent
potential negative consequences to the environment and human health. For more
detailed information about the disposal of your old equipment, please contact your
local authorities, waste disposal service, or supplier of the product.
FCC warning statement:
 This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC Rules.
Operation is subject to the following two conditions:
1. This device may not cause harmful interference, and
2. This device must accept any interference received, including interference
thatmay cause undesired operation.
 This equipment complies with FCC radiation exposure limits set forth for an
uncontrolled environment. End users must follow the specific operating
instructions for satisfying RF exposure compliance. This transmitter must not
be co-located or operating in conjunction with any other antenna or
transmitter.
 Changes or modifications not expressly approved by the party responsible for
compliance could void the user's authority to operate the equipment
Issue 2.7
67

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