Ultra-Wideband: At Home on the Range

“What I have ever sighed for has been to retreat to a Swiss farm and live entirely surrounded by cows.” - Charles Dickens

Until the Cows Come Home – Wherever They Are

These days, it can be a tall order to keep ourselves organized and on schedule. Where are we supposed to be, and when? Where will the family be and when at any given time? Calendars and day planners can help, but let’s say that the family you’re trying to keep track of is actually thousands of individuals who weigh around 2,000 pounds each and tend to roam toward their favorite food – say, on a dairy farm. It’s a modern challenge accepted by Belgium technology provider Pozyx, a leader in indoor RTLS (real-time location systems) based on Ultra-Wideband (UWB) technology. Over the years, Pozyx has repeatedly demonstrated how innovation in ultra-accurate location technology optimizes industry efficiency, as well as advances in truly smart manufacturing.

Bullish with Cardboard

Pozyx was a young startup company when an international dairy farming leader first came knocking in 2017 and asked about monitoring cattle. Dairy farmers had been using step-counters to track their cows but wanted to add the animals’ locations as well. This way, the dairy operators could keep an eye on the cattle’s movement and behavior in and out of their barns. The data would be used to monitor reproduction cycles and productivity and improve the herd’s overall health. At the time, the problem was that early UWB solutions were expensive, hard to implement and hard to scale.

Pozyx and its partners put together a diverse team of software developers, animal behavior researchers, project managers, and other farmers. They faced plenty of challenges, such as scaling up the tracking system to handle thousands of animals across large areas and developing an ear tag tough enough to handle not only the elements but also the cows themselves.

After weeks of work, the project boiled down to a pivotal demonstration. Pozyx team members showcased their tracking solution by transforming their own office into a mock barn, complete with cardboard cows and high-tech UWB ear-tag trackers. The success of the demo laid the foundation for a partnership that would redefine Pozyx's trajectory.

“We felt that this demo was important, and we committed the entire company to bringing this use-case to life,” said Pozyx co-founder Samuel Van de Velde. “We transformed our office to a small barn, with cow cubicles and stacks of hay. We created some cardboard cows and attached trackers to them. One member of the team, who was particularly good at drawing, drew up a barn floorplan and displayed the cows on a screen, moving in real time. In this application, UWB technology is used to track the location of cows inside the farms accurately. This not only allows farmers to easily find the right cow but also provides the data for AI algorithms to accurately determine animal health or detect when a cow is ready to have a calf. With tens of thousands of cows being equipped with this system every month, it’s arguably the largest application of UWB technology available to date for a non-consumer application.”

The demo (complete with people running around the office acting like livestock) turned out to be a great success. Ultimately, the demo, together with a detailed proposal plan, played out in a partnership that would last for years. In 2023, the dairy and Pozyx launched one of the most significant applications of UWB technology in a non-consumer setting and helped revolutionize dairy farming. “After almost six years of development and successful pilots with very enthusiastic farmers, the product was finally launched,” Samuel said. “We have learned a great deal during this journey. We have become much more of a cow expert than we ever imagined. We also learned a lot about working together with a large company and what’s involved in bringing a new product to the market.”

Scalability Stampede

Pozyx focused on scalability in various aspects, from RTLS setup and maintenance to production and international UWB certification. They streamlined the installation processes, made sure maintenance was straightforward, and set up automated production lines to meet the demands of large-scale deployment.

The system required anchors deployed throughout the barn, with at least three in range of each ear tag for accurate positioning. The UWB technology enabled both positioning and data communications, offering flexibility and scalability in monitoring the cows. Currently, hundreds of farms are now using the system - some farms with just a few hundred head of cattle and others with as many as 10,000 cows. Each tagged animal is used to capture data and generate algorithms that integrate an AI model of their behavior. Cows live in multiple barns and can roam freely while the UWB solution tracks them indoors. Data from the ear tags is collected every two seconds, and the system can be configured based on the dairy’s needs.

Tracking animal behavior through RTLS

Riding off into the Sunset

The use of UWB technology has clearly transformed dairy farming, offering global farmers a comprehensive monitoring solution that enhances animal welfare, productivity, and overall farm efficiency. Pozyx's journey from a small startup to a leader in UWB applications demonstrates the power of innovation and collaboration in driving technological advancements. And just think, if Charles Dickens was around to see this, he could learn exactly what Swiss shade tree to sit under when the cows come home.

Mass production facility for the animal trackers

Qorvo has a long history of partnering with Pozyx. As a UWB technology leader, Qorvo has a wide-ranging ecosystem of partners who are actively working to drive UWB adoption in new and exciting ways.

Learn more about Qorvo’s wide range of UWB solutions here.