UBC’s Dairy Education and Research Centre (DERC) is the site of a wide variety of research projects into dairy cattle behaviour, welfare and more. At the DERC each cow is monitored consistently with regards to their eating and drinking habits, social interactions, sleeping patterns and more. This information is used in a variety of research and these large quantities of data must be carefully organised and analysed.
Members of the Animal Welfare Program at the DERC, in collaboration with students from the UBC Master of Data Science program, have developed an innovative data visualisation tool that allows researchers to organise and interact with large amounts of data in a customised way. Peek-a-Moo creates a unique interactive dashboard presenting information such as behavioural timelines of individual animals or the overall herd, relationships and interactions between individual animals, information about feed intake and feeding behaviour and indications of abnormal behaviours. With this software researchers can evaluate welfare and monitor behaviour without having to be at the farm in person or having to watch hours of video footage. Not only does Peek-a-Moo provide an accessible way for researchers to study dairy cattle, but also provides an efficient method of alerting them of any abnormal behaviours that may require closer attention.
Members of the AWP Dr Borbala Foris and Sky Sheng worked closely with seven data scientists to develop the software. By creating Peek-a-Moo they have provided researchers with a tool that will not only improve their ability to analyse data but will also give more insight into the animals’ behaviour and health and how to best provide and care for them. This project was recently recognized as an example of UBC’s strategic plan in action.