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PERSPECTIVE article

Front. Vet. Sci.
Sec. Animal Behavior and Welfare
Volume 11 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fvets.2024.1490851
This article is part of the Research Topic Welfare, Behavior, and Sensory Science of Working Animals View all articles

Human-Computer Interactions with Farm Animals -Enhancing Welfare through Precision Livestock Farming and Artificial Intelligence

Provisionally accepted
Suresh Neethirajan Suresh Neethirajan 1*Stacey Scott Stacey Scott 2Clara Mancini Clara Mancini 3Xavier Boivin Xavier Boivin 4Elizabeth Strand Elizabeth Strand 5
  • 1 Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada
  • 2 University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada
  • 3 The Open University (United Kingdom), Milton Keynes, England, United Kingdom
  • 4 Institut National de recherche pour l’agriculture, l’alimentation et l’environnement (INRAE), Paris, Auvergne, France
  • 5 University of Tennessee Medical Center, Knoxville, Tennessee, United States

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    While user-centered design approaches stemming from the human-computer interaction (HCI) field have notably improved the welfare of companion, service, and zoo animals, their application in farm animal settings remains limited. This shortfall has catalyzed the emergence of animalcomputer interaction (ACI), a discipline extending technology's reach to a multispecies user base involving both animals and humans. Despite significant strides in other sectors, the adaptation of HCI and ACI (collectively HACI) to farm animal welfare-particularly for dairy cows, swine, and poultry-lags behind. Our paper explores the potential of HACI within precision livestock farming (PLF) and artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance individual animal welfare and address the unique challenges within these settings. It underscores the necessity of transitioning from productivityfocused to animal-centered farming methods, advocating for a paradigm shift that emphasizes welfare as integral to sustainable farming practices. Emphasizing the 'One Welfare' approach, this discussion highlights how integrating animal-centered technologies not only benefits farm animal health, productivity, and overall well-being but also aligns with broader societal, environmental, and economic benefits, considering the pressures farmers face. This perspective is based on insights from a one-day workshop held on June 24, 2024, which focused on advancing HACI technologies for farm animal welfare.

    Keywords: Precision Livestock Farming (PLF), Animal-Computer Interaction (ACI), Artificial intelligence (AI), Farm animal welfare, Human-computer interaction (HCI), One Welfare, Sensor technology, sustainable agriculture

    Received: 03 Sep 2024; Accepted: 29 Oct 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Neethirajan, Scott, Mancini, Boivin and Strand. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Suresh Neethirajan, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.