# PigV$^2$: Monitoring Pig Vital Signs through Ground Vibrations Induced by Heartbeat and Respiration

**Authors:** Yiwen Dong, Jesse R Codling, Gary Rohrer, Jeremy Miles, Sudhendu Sharma, Tami Brown-Brandl, Pei Zhang, Hae Young Noh  
**arXiv:** [2212.03378](https://arxiv.org/abs/2212.03378)  
**Date:** 2022-12-07  
**Summary page:** https://www.summarizepaper.com/en/arxiv-id/2212.03378v1/

## Key points

- Pig vital sign monitoring is crucial for understanding stress levels and detecting the onset of parturition
- Existing approach relies on manual measurement, which is labor-intensive and provides limited information
- Wearables and cameras have been developed for continuous measurement but are still limited due to animal discomfort, data transfer, and storage challenges
- PigV$^2$ is the first system to monitor pig heart rate (HR) and respiratory rate (RR) through ground vibrations induced by heartbeat and respiration
- PigV$^2$ infers vital information without causing any discomfort to the animals
- Researchers addressed challenges related to overlap between vital- and non-vital-related information in vibration signals caused by pig movements, postures, pig-to-sensor distances, etc.
- In a real-world deployment with 30 pigs, PigV$^2$ demonstrated an average error of 3.4% in monitoring HR and 8.3% in monitoring RR of sows.
- Related research studies presented at SenSys ’22 conference highlight the importance of remote management and monitoring of animal behavior, health, and well-being for improving performance over time.

## Summary

Pig vital sign monitoring is crucial for understanding the stress levels of sows and detecting the onset of parturition, which can help improve animal well-being and maximize peri-natal survival in swine production. However, the existing approach mainly relies on manual measurement, which is labor-intensive and provides only a few points of information. Other sensing modalities such as wearables and cameras have been developed to enable more continuous measurement but are still limited due to animal discomfort, data transfer, and storage challenges. To address these limitations, researchers have introduced PigV$^2$, the first system to monitor pig heart rate (HR) and respiratory rate (RR) through ground vibrations induced by heartbeat and respiration. The approach leverages the insight that both vital signs generate ground vibrations when the sow is lying on the floor. By sensing and analyzing these vibrations, PigV$^2$ infers vital information without causing any discomfort to the animals. However, developing PigV$^2$ posed several challenges due to overlap between vital- and non-vital-related information in vibration signals caused by pig movements, postures, pig-to-sensor distances, etc. To address this issue, researchers characterized their effects, extracted their current status, and then reduced their impact by adaptively interpolating vital rates over multiple sensors. In a real-world deployment with 30 pigs, PigV$^2$ demonstrated an average error of 3.4% in monitoring HR and 8.3% in monitoring RR of sows. This innovative technology offers a promising solution for continuous monitoring of pig vital signs without causing any discomfort or harm to animals. In related research studies presented at SenSys ’22 conference held in Boston MA USA: Jesse R Codling et al., presented Sow Posture and Feeding Activity Monitoring in a Farrowing Pen Using Ground Vibration; Francien H De Jonge et al., discussed developmental aspects of social stress in pigs reared in a poor environment; Yiwen Dong et al., presented Stranger Detection and Occupant Identification Using Structural Vibrations; Asya Macon et al., characterized Lactating Sow Posture in Farrowing Crates Utilizing Automated Image Capture and Wearable Sensors. These studies highlight the importance of remote management and monitoring of animal behavior, health, and well-being for improving performance over time.