EQUISAFE - An advanced monitoring system for equestrian activities based on wireless sensing and AI

EQUISAFE is a two-year project whereby an advanced monitoring system for horse riding and equestrian activities based on wireless sensing and artificial intelligence will be developed.

Horseback riding attractions are currently available in more than 30 countries across Europe. These have a considerable economic impact on tourist attractions, and are becoming even more popular due to the close contact with nature that this activity offers to the riders.

Horseback activities have specific tailored packages that address the needs of various riders with different levels of riding proficiency, from beginner to advance, and encompassing activities from beginner lessons for children up to long trip excursions.

However, currently there are no safety measures available for such activities. Present-day equestrian activities do not provide the horse rider with horse health conditions, and this may adversely compromise the safety of the horse-riding activity. This implies that hazardous situations may arise where riders may suffer serious injuries during horse-riding activities due to bolting/nervous/runaway horses. These situations may lead to serious accidents, inevitably damaging also the reputation of horse keepers.

The objective of the EQUISAFE project is to develop a novel system for the monitoring of horse activity risks and horse health monitoring and management, both in indoor and outdoor conditions. This will consist of a comfortable horse harness, which will include the following technological characteristics: i) GPS receiver and GPRS remote communication; ii) monitoring of horse movement activity by means of accelerometer and gyroscope; iii) on-horse health measurements; iv) Wireless transmission and different modes of use (excursion, indoor); v) fall detection of horse rider; vi) group guider monitoring unit for outdoors equestrian activities; and vii) monitoring of horse behavior in stables.

The software will include: i) Automatic alarm raising; ii) Horse monitoring; iii) History of user and horse assignment; iv) Horse interactions; and v) relationship & data history of horses amongst other features.

Countries

Estonia, Spain, France, Malta