Perspectives on the use of unmanned aerial systems to monitor cattle

Abstract

The use of unmanned aerial systems (UASs) in agriculture has been growing steadily in the last decade, but their use to monitor and count cattle has been very limited. This article analyses the reasons for this apparent lack of progress, considering both the technical challenges and the difficulties in defining target users who would benefit from a UAS-based system for monitoring cattle. Such an analysis is combined with the findings reported in several investigations dedicated to counting and monitoring wildlife to draw a comprehensive picture on the current situation, to suggest possible solutions to technical issues and to delineate applications that could be useful to both cattle farmers and governments. The text concludes by showing that there are unexplored viable uses for UAS in livestock monitoring, especially in countries like Brazil, where extensive stockbreeding prevails.