Development and assessment of a low-cost embedded system for evaluation of animal thermal comfort

Abstract

Technologically advanced animal production requires more controlled environments, aiming to maximize animal performance and, consequently, the profitability of the activity. To do that, it is necessary to instrument, evaluate and diagnose the various rearing environments. Hence, Precision Animal Production is inserted in this context and aims to effectively meet the general needs of the animal, so that it reach its full productive potential, correcting the divergences between the environment and its well-being to guarantee its comfort. Since Brazil is a country with tropical climate, which is a major obstacle, the proposal of this project is to develop a prototype for embedded system of thermal comfort analysis at low cost. Using sensors and the microcontroller Arduino to manage data, this work fulfilled its objective, with a prototype device (WGV-1c) capable of measuring dry bulb temperature, wet bulb temperature, black globe temperature, relative humidity, BGHI and THI with production cost below that proposed by the market.