SpaceSheep: Satellite Communications for Ovine Smart Grazing

Area of Science:

• Agricultural Technology
• Internet of Things (IoT)
• Livestock Management

Background:

• Pastoralism benefits from smart optimization and autonomous animal control via IoT.
• Human intervention remains critical for system failures, animal behavior issues, and welfare concerns.
• Existing systems require enhancements for reliable operation in remote areas.

Purpose of the Study:

• To enhance an IoT-based alarm generation system for monitoring livestock and equipment.
• To ensure timely delivery of alerts in areas lacking internet access.
• To optimize system cost-effectiveness through message encoding for satellite communication.

Main Methods:

• Integration of an enhanced alarm system with a satellite interface.
• Optimization of message encoding for cost-effective satellite communication.
• Assessment of system performance, scalability, and satellite link efficiency.

Main Results:

• The enhanced system provides timely alerts for undesirable events requiring human intervention.
• Satellite integration ensures reliable communication in areas without internet access.
• Optimized message encoding reduces operational costs for satellite-based alerts.

Conclusions:

• The enhanced IoT alarm system effectively supports pastoralism by improving livestock operation efficiency.
• Satellite communication is a viable solution for reliable remote monitoring in agriculture.
• The system demonstrates scalability and cost-effectiveness for modern livestock management.