AI, Sensing and Environmental Control Technologies for Precision Livestock Farming

Dear Colleagues,

Precision livestock farming (PLF) has emerged as a transformative approach to modern animal production, leveraging advanced engineering technologies to optimize production efficiency, animal welfare, and environmental sustainability. The rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI), sensing technologies, Internet of Things (IoT), and automated environmental control systems has created unprecedented opportunities for innovation in livestock farming engineering. These technologies enable real-time monitoring of animal behavior, health status, and environmental conditions, as well as automated decision-making and control of livestock housing environments.

Despite significant advances in recent years, there remain considerable challenges in the development and deployment of engineering solutions for precision livestock farming. These include the need for more accurate and robust sensing technologies, reliable AI models that can generalize across different farming systems, energy-efficient and cost-effective hardware solutions, seamless integration of multiple data streams, and practical environmental control strategies that can adapt to dynamic conditions. Furthermore, the translation of laboratory-based engineering innovations into commercially viable on-farm applications requires rigorous validation and optimization.

This Special Issue aims to provide a platform for researchers and engineers to present the latest advances in AI, sensing, and environmental control technologies for precision livestock farming. We welcome original research articles, reviews, and short communications covering a wide range of engineering topics, including but not limited to:

- Machine learning and deep learning algorithms for livestock monitoring and prediction;
- Computer vision and image processing techniques for animal behavior analysis and health assessment;
- Wearable sensors, acoustic sensors, and environmental sensing systems for livestock farming;
- IoT architectures and wireless sensor networks for real-time livestock monitoring;
- Automated environmental control systems for livestock housing, including ventilation, heating, cooling, and lighting;
- Digital twin technologies and simulation models for livestock production systems;
- Robotics and automated systems for livestock management;
- Big data analytics, cloud computing, and edge computing for precision livestock farming;
- Energy-efficient and sustainable engineering solutions for livestock production;
- System integration, on-farm validation, and commercialization of precision livestock farming technologies.

We invite contributions from agricultural engineers, computer scientists, electrical engineers, mechanical engineers, and animal scientists who are working on innovative engineering solutions to advance precision livestock farming. This Special Issue will highlight the state-of-the-art technologies and identify future research directions in this rapidly evolving field.

Dr. Geqi Yan
Dr. Dapeng Li
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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