Exploring the link between cow size and sideways lunging using 3D pose estimation

Abstract

The rigid structure of free stall partitions interferes with the natural movements of cows as they transition between postures, often resulting in abnormal motions like sideways head lunge. Although most stalls allow for forward lunge room, cows are frequently hindered in their posture transition movements. Methods are needed to evaluate effective lunge room and detect sideways lunge. The Sony multi-camera system generated 3D pose estimation to measure lunge distance and angle during lying-to-standing posture transitions (n = 493 bouts). After validating lunge timestamp detection against 3 observers (n = 165 annotated bouts), we explored features associated with abnormal rising. Agreement between observers on lunge timestamp was very high, as per an intra-class correlation of 0.97, and 0.95 when adding the automated detection. Mean absolute difference (MAD) in annotated lunge timestamp between observers and machine was 0.33s while mean difference was 0.03s ± 0.03 indicating a minor difference and no substantial bias. In comparison, average intra-observer MAD was 0.2s. Lunge angle had a mean of 166.1° ± 0.5 and was skewed to the left by -1.31, indicating that most motions occurred with the body in a relatively straight line and that sideways lunging occurred at a lower frequency. Using a linear regression, a significant effect of height at the withers (p = 0.003) and of lunge distance (P < 0.001) were found on lunge angle. These results show that the standardized cubicle does not accommodate all individuals' proper lunge. They further suggest that 3D pose estimation is a promising technology for measuring the kinematics of lunging motions.

Keywords

animal welfare; Computer vision; cubicle; free-stall; pose estimation; sideways lunging

Published in

Title: 11th European Conference on Precision Livestock Farming
Publisher: European Conference on Precision Livestock Farming

Conference

11th European Conference on Precision Livestock Farming, 9 - 12 September 2024, Bologna, Italy

SLU Authors

• Kroese, Adrien

  • Department of Clinical Sciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

• Högberg, Niclas

  • Department of Clinical Sciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

• Tamminen, Lena-Mari

  • Department of Clinical Sciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

• Fall, Nils

  • Department of Clinical Sciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

UKÄ Subject classification

Clinical Science

Publication identifier

• ISBN: 9791221067361

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/142763