The new AI algorithm not only helps farmers better understand their pigs’ emotions, but also alerts them to negative signs, thereby improving the animals’ psychological well-being.
The team of experts from Denmark, Germany, Switzerland, France, Norway and the Czech Republic used thousands of recorded sounds from pigs in various situations, such as playing, being isolated or fighting over food.
A pig farm in Brueggen, Germany (Illustration photo)
Through the study, they identified sounds that expressed positive or negative emotions of this animal.
According to behavioral biologist Elodie Mandel-Briefer of the University of Copenhagen (Denmark) – co-lead of the study, understanding the language of animals will contribute significantly to improving the lives of animals in livestock.
The new artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm not only helps farmers better understand the emotions of pigs but also warns them when negative signs appear, thereby improving the psychology of these animals.
The researchers believe that once fully developed, the method could be used to label farms, making it easier for consumers to choose products to buy.
According to the study results, short calls often indicate positive emotions, while long calls often signal discomfort, such as when pigs jostle each other at the feeding trough.
High-frequency sounds indicate that pigs are stressed, such as when they are in pain, fighting or separated from the herd.
Scientists used these findings to create an AI-based algorithm.
“AI has helped us both process the large volume of sounds we collect and automatically classify the sounds,” said Mandel-Briefer.
TB (synthesis)
Source: Hai Duong Newspaper