I was thinking of building a GEO fence collar for goats to wear so they would not get out of bounds on farmers property without traditional fencing. It would need a solar panel for charging and a GPS receiver with some form of Bluetooth for programing. The collar should have an audible warning followed up by an electric shock, maybe from a rechargeable capacitor. It sounds like an ambitious project and I am new to Arduino.
I have seen some commercial units for around $1500 each which would make it cost prohibitive for a herd of 200.
Does anyone feel it is possible and doable?
Please feel free to commit.
Thanks!
A technically competent person might be able to build a single unit for $150, not counting labor costs. Would that still be cost prohibitive?
Interesting project! Have you ever done an electronics project of this magnitude before? There is a reason they are charging that much, you need to investigate what it will take in components to do what you want. How are you going to package it? How are you going to keep the solar cells orentiated properly or make them big enough to charge the battery? Take some time and determine what you will needs in components, then determine how much current they will require. Once you have this you can figure out what battery capacity and chemistry you want to use. Do you need it for a few or all?
$150 might be acceptable. I would like to personally build the units because I think it would be fun. I was hoping an Arduino mini would have enough capability to handle the logic. I was thinking of adding solar panels in the collar at the top and the heavy battery stuff on the bottom. The weight of the battery would keep the collar balanced. I would make the box from aircraft aluminum.
I would like to have the goats roam free range and round them up only a few times a year.
This would also work perfect for people who rent goats to clean up underbrush. They could draw the fence on google maps and upload it to the collars.
When a goat receives a shock, how do they know which side of the "fence" to take? What if the collar malfunctions and the goat continues to receive continuous shocks for several months? There is a lot that isn't right about this...
I think, for the dog collars, there is a training regimen...
Some Arduino geofencing projects have been posted on the web. One of those might be a place to start.
I wonder if the law allows for electrical shocks.
Don't forget the climate, rain, cold, warm,..... What if the goat is rubbing itself and mechanically affect the gear?
Solar panels..... Do they cover the need for current during 24 hours facing cloudy days?
These are all good questions and considerations of the build.
Another angle to consider....goats generally eat anything, including a neighbours collar.
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