Tracking livestock location without GPS or mobile network

Question

Is there a way if I have a paddock 2 km by 2 km I can find the location of my livestock, essentially live tracking their movement?

I've thought of possibly giving them a passive RFID tag with antennas around the perimeter but that would only work if they cross the fenceline boundary which would be more like checking what paddock (zone) they're in rather than where their exact location within the paddock? Also the antennas aren't capable of sending a signal long enough across a 2km perimeter right?

Is it possible to triangulate their position with multiple antennas pin-pointing their location?

I've tried to do some research but struggling to find a solid solution that isn't ridiculously expensive.

Answer 1

I think the least expensive technology that exists in this arena is active RFID. But the definition of expensive is best left to the user. A company called Monnit has active rfid tags and sensors directly targeted at livestock assets. Still only has a 250 ft NLOS range, but it's hard to know what the LOS range is without putting a sensor up a pole. Since the furthest location from the fence is 3300 feet. . . this probably isn't the answer. But I do think it's the state of existing technology.

In a somewhat longer, hackier timeframe, this looks like a fine application for a private implementation of Narrowband IoT in an unlicensed frequency.

First person to make this work could make a fortune. I don't know how many cows you have but I suspect there are those with many more who have the same problem.

Answer 2

If you're worried about the cost of scaling the system to large numbers of livestock, then keep the equipment off the livestock.

1. Send a drone with a camera overhead periodically. Livestock need to be optically distinguishable from the surrounding ground.
2. Multiple cameras up on poles. Computer provides triangulation. The more height, the better. You get more frequent updates than #1. This would be easier if the area has roof/fencing instead of an open area.

Are you wanting to track where individuals go, or just to know how many livestock are in a specific area? Counting animals is easier than keeping track of where animal #42 goes.

Answer 3

Using RFIDs will be very costly for such large coverage area. It will require a bulkier system. It will be better if you use LoRaWAN. This technology being cheap, low powered, long transmission range capability and durability of more than 10 years will be very helpful in your use case. You can attach LoRaWAN receivers on your livestock and setup the main LoRaWAN transceiver at the center (or corner or even your house if it is close enough to your paddock) of your paddock. You can find a lot of information on Google and a review on this technology on YouTube here.