Fitbits for people and cows – in the form of activity monitors – have grown in popularity. They’re part of the “wearables” industry, which has grown to an almost-$90 billion market, according to IDTechEx, a market-research company focused on emerging technologies.
Wearables are increasingly being used in several industry sectors. That includes agriculture, where wearable technologies can help farmers and their employees be safer while working on farming operations.
Sound-level meters are one example. They’re important because noise injury affects the hearing of as much as two-thirds of the farming community, Aaron Yoder said. He’s an associate professor of biological-systems engineering, and environmental, agricultural and occupational health at the University of Nebraska-Medical Center in Lincoln, Nebraska.
“Noise injury occurs when tiny hairs (cochlear hair cells) in the inner ear are damaged by excessive noise,” he said. “Once destroyed those cells aren’t replaced and hearing loss is progressive and permanent.”
For that reason farmers might consider purchasing sound-level meters or bone-conduction headphones. An example of a sound-level meter is Decibel X:dB. It’s an app that turns one’s mobile operating system – iOS – into a sound-level meter that helps detect loud noise. It’s available on the Apple Store or Google Play.
Another example of wearable hearing protection is the 3M Peltor E-A-R buds headphones, Yoder said. The headphones are designed to combine hearing protection and clear sound reception in environments with hazardous noise.
Bone-conduction headphones are among the newest innovations in the audio-wearables market. They work in combination with earplugs, he said.
Bone-conduction headphones rely on sound being transmitted through vibrations on the bones of the head and jaw. Sounds from headphones bypass the eardrum and relay sound directly to the inner ear. That process of sound transmission is how people are able to hear their own voice, according to Salus University, the Pennsylvania Ear Institute.
Help prevent heat illness
Another example of safety-related technology are tools to help prevent heat illness.
“Agricultural workers are at particular risk for heat illness because of exertional heat stress,” Yoder said.
During strenuous work, heat accumulates in the body. That plus external sources can cause heat-related illness. Heat illness occurs when the body can no longer cope and the body’s physical and mental functions begin to fail, he said.
Among the tools to help prevent heat illness is an armband developed by SlateSafety. It provides real-time heat-stress and overexertion alerts. Sensors measure heart rate, core body temperature and exertion levels. Data from the armbands are processed and stored in the cloud. The system also enables safety managers to use its web platform or mobile app to see real-time dashboards.
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“We’re planning to use the SlateSafety in poultry facilities and on cattle feed yards to monitor workers and their environment, to capture leading indicators to prevent injuries and illnesses,” he said.
Kestrel’s DROP D1 and D2 wireless temperature monitors and data loggers aren’t wearables. But they can be placed where the users need them, such as in a barn or field. As a test Kestrel buried a DROP D1 temperature monitor and data logger in soil. The technology still worked after significant time had passed.
The DROP D2 enables a user to monitor both temperature and humidity data. Kestrel also has developed the DROP D2AG, which is a heat-stress monitor for livestock. It can help a farmer monitor heat conditions in a barn or during transport. It also can be used for other applications such as monitoring hay and feed storage.
The monitor can be hung wherever the farmer wants to monitor conditions. It may be used with a mobile operating system or Android device.
Safety system evaluated
Yoder also has been working with cattle feed yards to test the MākuSafe system.
“It has been successfully used in many other industries and now we’re exploring the use of it in agriculture,” he said.
The system combines a safety-management software platform with wearable technology. It provides access to real-time environmental-health-safety data with predictive value.
The system uses machine learning to process data and identify risky trends that could lead to injuries. The MākuSafe company then provides remediation steps to help with problem areas.
Fatigue explored
Research also may one day lead to wearables that can help prevent accidents. Scientists at Texas A&M University and Arizona State University are studying the use of artificial intelligence for detecting fatigue.
Steven Riechman, an associate professor of kinesiology in the Texas A&M-School of Education and Human Development, said the findings may lead to new opportunities for monitoring and predicting fatigue by using wearables to prevent accidents. There also may be new ways to intervene against fatigue to improve resilience in challenging environments and circumstances, he said.
Research goals are to better understand sleep deprivation, mental and physical fatigue in humans. Researchers plan to do that by measuring breath volatile-organic-compounds biomarkers and how they can affect performance. Understanding those compounds could enable researchers to create a set of artificial-intelligence algorithms to detect a person’s fatigued state.
Visit unmc.edu and salusuhealth.com/Pennsylvania-Ear-Institute and slatesafety.com and kestrelmeters.com/products/kestrel-drop and makusafe.com for more information.
This is an original article written for Agri-View, a Lee Enterprises agricultural publication based in Madison, Wisconsin. Visit AgriView.com for more information.
Lynn Grooms writes about the diversity of agriculture, including the industry’s newest ideas, research and technologies as a staff reporter for Agri-View based in Wisconsin.