diff --git a/problem.latex b/problem.latex index b8d4dd2..5ee1c5d 100644 --- a/problem.latex +++ b/problem.latex @@ -13,7 +13,10 @@ same ways they did decades ago, exerting needless time and effort. We propose an automated, fenceless grazing system that would allow for the management of cattle through a digital interface, rather than - through physical labor. + through physical labor. This system will consist of a collar + worn by individual farm animals that is capable of emitting loud + noises and administering mild shocks in order to control their + behavior. \end{abstract} \section{Introduction} @@ -48,8 +51,6 @@ a description of the "allowed" area, can be used to judge whether or not an animal is "out of bounds", and thus, if action should be taken to return it to a desired location. -TODO Mention how the information will be relayed - \subsection{Sound and Shock} Simply knowing the location of an animal is not particularly helpful for reducing the amount of human and animal labor that is needed for cattle @@ -65,6 +66,16 @@ Should this be successful, farmer intervention will be unnecessary - all the actions described above can be performed automatically by the collar. +\subsection{LoRa} +It is one of the requirements for the product that the collar uses Long Range +(LoRa) technology to communicate with the controller and potentially +with other collars. LoRa can be used for long-range, low-power communication, +which is excellent for the type of product that were are developing. It is +important that the collar is able to support herds spread over wide +areas (to support big farms), and also be power efficient enough +to prevent the need for frequent maintenance. The client specifically +requested LoRa to be the protocol of choice. + \subsection{External Control System} It is not difficult to imagine a situation in which the desired location of a herd of animals changes. In such a case, the collars will need @@ -75,9 +86,9 @@ without having to be physically present with the cattle. In the best case scenario, this interface will also allow users to monitor in real time the location of the animals as they graze in a particular area. -Such an external control system can be implemented as mobile app. Users +The current idea for such a control system is a mobile app. Users of this app will be able to modify the grazing boundaries of a herd through the -use of their mobile device. +use of their mobile device. \section{Performance Metrics} Since this project specifies a physical device to be put onto animals, @@ -102,6 +113,11 @@ the changes being reflected in the operation of the collar prototypes discussed Finally, in order to determine whether or not the project has been completed, it will be necessary to ensure that the prototype can be used in the field. If a prototype is not fit for testing on real animals, it should not be -considered complete. +considered complete. Whether or not the proposed techniques are effective +at keeping cattle is another question - it's not outside the realm of +possibility that electric shocks and sounds are ineffective at manipulting +the behavior of farm animals. Thus, whether or not the device is effective +should not be a performance metric. However, to reiterate, it must +be possible to at least test it in the field. \end{document}