At a pig farm in Yancheng, Jiangsu province, a robot equipped with four wheels, cameras, and sensors patrols along the aisle between rows of pig stalls. It collects real-time data including pig behavior, water intake, feed consumption, ambient temperature and humidity, as well as disease-related physical signs.
The data will then be uploaded to a large model platform, where algorithms perform in-depth data analysis. The third stage feeds the results back to front-end devices to deliver closed-loop responses such as precision feeding, anomaly alerts, and environmental regulation. This demonstration illustrates how robots and artificial intelligence tools are being deployed across parts of China to help raise pigs in a bid to boost efficient husbandry.
According to Chen Libing, director of public relations at Nongxin Digital Intelligence Technology Co in Yancheng, the use of the robot has helped cut feed waste by between 8 and 10 percent and reduce human labor by approximately 30 percent. The overall disease incidence has dropped by 30 percent and the market-age finishing pigs reach slaughter weight five to seven days earlier on average.
"For instance, when AI detects a sustained three-day drop in feed intake among pigs in a pen, it automatically triggers rechecks of body temperature and cross-references the results with drinking water records," he said. "Combined with historical disease models, the system issues early warnings for suspected respiratory infections. Workers can then take pre-emptive intervention to contain the spread of illness."
The robot can patrol automatically for 24 hours, and is able to adapt to different environments on pig farms. "Raising pigs used to rely on farmers' experience; now it relies on data," said Wang Ke, vice-president of the company, adding that the platform weaves together AI, algorithms and internet of things devices into a connected network.
Every detail, including those that evade the human eye, can be detected. All physical indicators, such as feeding, time spent lying, cough frequency and skin changes; environmental data such as carbon dioxide content and ammonia concentration; as well as other data such as unauthorized personnel or small animals entering restricted zones, and compliance with disinfection procedures, are collected.
Together, these metrics form a livestock health profile. "They transform disease early-warning, ventilation adjustment, feeding tuning and other processes, which were once based purely on experiential judgment, into quantifiable and traceable data-driven decisions," Chen said.
The company's AI box is connected to cameras and sensors, and records data before uploading to the cloud. It has been used in about 1,200 farms across the country, involving the raising of pigs, ducks, chickens and fish.
Its robots have been applied in 67 farms across eight provinces. The cost for the system ranges anywhere from 280,000 yuan ($42,000) to more than 1 million yuan, based on the number of pigs and devices being deployed.
Chen envisions workers shifting from manual laborers to collaborators with intelligent systems. "Previously, manual pen inspections three times a day took four hours in total, and now workers only need to verify 10 high-priority alerts pushed by AI. In the past, sow estrus was judged by experience, while breeding is now scheduled based on hormone-fluctuation curves generated by algorithms," he said.
"We do not pursue 'unmanned pig farms'. Sensors are prone to drift in high-temperature and high-humidity conditions, and the AI still maintains a misjudgment rate of around 0.7 percent. All critical decisions, such as medication administration, pen transfer and culling, are ultimately confirmed by veterinarians in collaboration with system recommendations."
Editor：Zhou Jinmiao
