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British cows get 5G connectivity before humans

by on15 April 2019


Mooving ahead of the herd

While Britons mull Russian propaganda which claims 5G is a health risk, a herd of UK dairy cows have said “pull the udder one” and have moved ahead of the rest of the UK when it comes to 5G connectivity.

The cows sport a 5G collar that connects to a robotic milking system. When the cow wants to be milked, it will approach machine gates that will automatically open.

The device recognises the individual to precisely latch on to its teats for milking, while the cow munches on a food reward.

The tech has been installed at the Agricultural Engineering Precision Innovation Centre (Agri-EPI Centre) in Shepton Mallet, in southwest England. At the moment 50 of the 180-strong herd are fitted with the 5G smart collars and health-monitoring ear tags.

Cisco has designed the tech as part of its global 5G rollout. It is trying out 5G in three rural locations.

Farms make good testing environments. They are large spaces, and cows are shuffled between pastures and areas of the farm where they can be easily milked and checked on. With the 5G collars, Cisco says farmers can watch the animals at all times of the day without having to trek out to observe the cows up close physically.

Cisco's Nick Chrissos told Reuters he could connect every cow on the farm. It is unclear if any of them have a social media page yet, but they are probably too clever for that.

The good side is that cows do not seem to be too concerned about their calves getting cancer and are always up for vaccination. So far there have been no signs of autism in cows either.

Last modified on 15 April 2019
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