White broiler chickens with red combs White broiler chickens with red combs

Audio-Based Monitoring Technology Advances Broiler Chicken Welfare 

Generating Production Systems Solutions
Generating Production Systems Solutions

Program Contact

Nikki Dutta

ndutta@foundationfar.org

Brandon Carroll
and Tom Darbonne

AudioT at Georgia Tech University

Year Awarded  2022

Total award amount   $300,000

Location   Atlanta, GA

Program   SMART Broiler

Matching Funders   McDonald's Corporation

Grantee Institution   AudioT at Georgia Tech

Why this research is important

By identifying automated Sensors, Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technologies (SMART) solutions that can replace human observation and subjective scoring, the SMART Broiler initiative can enhance the welfare for 9 billion birds annually in the U.S. and improve producer profitability.

This project is one of three selected from the six research projects funded in Phase I to receive a total of $1.625 million in Phase II of the SMART Broiler program. In this phase, researchers will optimize hardware and software configurations, advance data management and processing tools for measuring key welfare indicators and justify commercial investment in these new welfare monitoring tools. The technologies will be tested at two broiler producing barns, Tyson Foods Broiler Research Barn in Arkansas and Master Good in Kisvárda, Hungary.

FFAR is pleased to provide further support in Phase II of the SMART Broiler program to these bold projects that are developing technologies to meet consumer and producer demand for increased animal welfare, while helping farmers more efficiently produce one of the world’s most consumed meats. Saharah Moon Chapotin, Ph.D.
Executive Director

Details About this Research

Brandon Carroll and Tom Darbonne with AudioT, a new venture established at Georgia Tech University, is receiving $300,000, with additional in-kind support provided by Tyson Foods, to develop a scalable, low-cost audio-monitoring tool that tracks bird vocalizations to alert farmers to broiler welfare and behavior. Bird vocalizations can provide insight into flock status and can be a complementary tool to video-based systems.

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