Initial version of problem LaTeX
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\documentclass[10pt, draftclsnofoot,onecolumn]{IEEEtran}
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\linespread{1}
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\begin{document}
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\title{Fenceless Grazing Problem Statement}
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\author{Danila Fedorin}
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\maketitle
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\begin{abstract}
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Automation is an increasingly important component of modern business. However,
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as other industries rise up the ladder of automation, cattle farming
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stagnates: farmers continue to personally herd their cattle in the
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same ways they did decades ago, exerting needless time and effort.
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We propose an automated, fenceless grazing system that would allow
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for the management of cattle through a digital interface, rather than
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through physical labor.
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\end{abstract}
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\section{Introduction}
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Automation is prevalent in our modern age. Consumer technology like cars
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and computers is assembled in enormous, largely automated factories, optimized
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for utmost precision. Planting and harvesting is performed using specialized
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machines that significantly decrease the time and effort required of the farmer.
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Cattle farming, however, is diferent. To this day, the manipulation of herds
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of cows is performed either by humans or by trained animals. Doing so
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takes up a huge amount of time. At the same time, farmers list lack of labor
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as the main limiting factor to their growth. The time and effort spent manually
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herding cattle can be better used elsewhere, aleviating the labor shortage
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and facilitating the growth of farms.
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We propose a technology that can be used to automate the herding of cattle
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largely without human or animal intervention. This technology is a specialized
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collar, integrated with GPS, sound, and the ability to administer a mild shock.
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Equipped with such a collar, the position of an animal will be well-known
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through the GPS, and undesired behavior (such as leaving a particular area),
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can be discouraged with an unpleasant sound, in some cases followed by
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an electric shock. Together with the ability to specify desired locations
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for a herd, this technology would allow farmers to control the animals
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without physically being present, with various additional benefits.
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\section{Solution Specifications}
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\subsection{GPS}
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The first component of our proposed solution is the integration of GPS
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(Global Positioning System) into the collar. Through this, farmers
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will be able to precisely track the locations of individual animals in a herd
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without being physically present. This information, combined with
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a description of the "allowed" area, can be used to judge whether or not
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an animal is "out of bounds", and thus, if action should be taken to return
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it to a desired location.
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TODO Mention how the information will be relayed
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\subsection{Sound and Shock}
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Simply knowing the location of an animal is not particularly helpful for
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reducing the amount of human and animal labor that is needed for cattle
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farming. The purpose of this project is to reduce such labor. To do
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so, animals will be automatically discouraged from leaving an area
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through the use of sounds and electric shocks. This can be done in
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two stages. First, as the animal approaches an "out of bounds" area,
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the collar's integrated speaker will produce an unpleasant sound.
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The sound will get progressively louder as the cow approaches the
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region boundary. At a particularly close distance, the device will
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administer a shock, with the intention of discouraging further movemenent.
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Should this be successful, farmer intervention will be unnecessary -
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all the actions described above can be performed automatically by
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the collar.
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\subsection{External Control System}
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It is not difficult to imagine a situation in which the desired location
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of a herd of animals changes. In such a case, the collars will need
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to be adjusted to operate based on this new information. The third
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component of our project is an interface that allows users to apply
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changes to the operating parameters of the collar, performing adjustment
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without having to be physically present with the cattle. In the best
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case scenario, this interface will also allow users to monitor
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in real time the location of the animals as they graze in a particular area.
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Such an external control system can be implemented as mobile app. Users
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of this app will be able to modify the grazing boundaries of a herd through the
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use of their mobile device.
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\section{Performance Metrics}
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Since this project specifies a physical device to be put onto animals,
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the first metric to evaluate project completion is the existence
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of a working prototype. At minimum, the working prototype should
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be able to track the location of a farm animal, emiting a warning signal
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(in the form of a sound and/or a shock) when the animal approaches
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the boundary of the prescribed region.
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Additionally, since an external control system (an app) is part of the project
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specification, another performance metric is the usability of the client-facing
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software. It should not be necessary for the client (likely a farmer) to have
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an in-depth knowledge of the software or hardware that underlies the project.
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Thus, the interface should be simple and intuitive. This can be evaluated
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through a user study, presenting a completed application to a group of people
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from the target demographic (farmers), and evaluating the outcomes of their
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interaction with the software. Completion of the app will be achieved
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when a client can successfully use the interface to perform actions
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such as adjusting the grazing region and locating individual cows, with
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the changes being reflected in the operation of the collar prototypes discussed above.
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Finally, in order to determine whether or not the project has been completed,
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it will be necessary to ensure that the prototype can be used in the field.
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If a prototype is not fit for testing on real animals, it should not be
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considered complete.
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\end{document}
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