Objective In order to control the calving interval, and therefore to optimise milk production and maximise offspring in dairy cattle, artificial insemination (AI) is widely used. Currently, the conception rate of AI varies from 30% to 70%, the most critical aspect of successful conception being the timing of the insemination. Highest conception rates are achieved when the insemination is done 8 to 12 hours after the start of estrus (also known as “standing heat”). The right timing of AI, therefore, is related to detection of estrus in a cow. The BOVINOSE project aims to develop an “electronic nose” to detect estrus in a dairy cow, and thus to determine the optimal timing of artificial insemination. The physical principle is based on detection of sex pheromones that are exclusively secreted by the cow during estrus. These pheromones are the natural olfactory signal for the bull that the cow is in heat. Simply put, in essence, the device to be developed will mimic the bull’s nose. To this end the info-chemicals that make up the sex pheromones in cows will be investigated, a set of sensors for detection of these sex pheromones (or mix thereof) will be researched, and a functional prototype, consisting of a probe, an array of sensors and dedicated, integrated software for control and user-interaction will be developed and tested in field trials. The impact of the project is high, tapping the dairy farming market, which consists of some 1,700,000 farmers in the EU-27, producing about 135 Billion Kg milk annually. Preliminary investigations show that a selling price of € 1,800 would be economically attractive to the entire SME supply chain, providing an overall estimated profit of 10%-25% (depending on batch size). A sales price of € 1,800 would imply an attractive 15 months payout time for the dairy farmer (end user) with a herd of 60 cows, based on costs savings related to higher AI conception rate from 50% average to 60% (conservative estimation). Fields of science natural sciencescomputer and information sciencessoftwaremedical and health sciencesclinical medicinegynaecologyreproductive medicineagricultural sciencesanimal and dairy sciencedairyengineering and technologyelectrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineeringelectronic engineeringsensorsagricultural sciencesanimal and dairy sciencedomestic animalsanimal husbandry Keywords +cows +dairy +estrus +pheromone Electronic Nose detection Programme(s) FP7-SME - Specific Programme "Capacities": Research for the benefit of SMEs Topic(s) SME-1 - Research for SMEs Call for proposal FP7-SME-2008-1 See other projects for this call Funding Scheme BSG-SME - Research for SMEs Coordinator PRO SUPPORT BV Address Amarilstraat 11 7550 AN Hengelo Netherlands See on map Activity type Private for-profit entities (excluding Higher or Secondary Education Establishments) Administrative Contact Henk Van Ekelenburg (Mr.) Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window EU contribution € 84 160,00 Participants (9) Sort alphabetically Sort by EU Contribution Expand all Collapse all UAB PRECIZIKA METROLOGY Lithuania EU contribution € 207 633,75 Address Zirmunu 139 09120 Vilnius See on map Activity type Private for-profit entities (excluding Higher or Secondary Education Establishments) Administrative Contact Algimantas Barakauskas (Dr.) Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window PRZEDSIEBIORSTWO INNOWACYJNO-WDROZENIOWE COMPLEX SP ZOO Poland EU contribution € 127 103,10 Address Ul. jabloniowa 42/6 40 111 Katowice See on map Region Makroregion południowy Śląskie Katowicki Activity type Private for-profit entities (excluding Higher or Secondary Education Establishments) Administrative Contact Grzegorz Zalot (Mr.) Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window NIFA-INSTRUMENTEN BV Netherlands EU contribution € 175 520,17 Address Amperestraat 4 8912AD Leeuwarden See on map Activity type Private for-profit entities (excluding Higher or Secondary Education Establishments) Administrative Contact Dirk Postma (Mr.) Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window IMV TECHNOLOGIES France EU contribution € 299 220,43 Address Zi 1 est 61300 Saint-ouen-sur-iton See on map Region Normandie Basse-Normandie Orne Activity type Private for-profit entities (excluding Higher or Secondary Education Establishments) Administrative Contact Eric Schmitt (Mr.) Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window G.H.J. Aveskamp Netherlands EU contribution € 109 751,58 Address Glanerbrugdijk 12 7582 RC Losser See on map Activity type Private for-profit entities (excluding Higher or Secondary Education Establishments) Administrative Contact Gerald Aveskamp (Mr.) Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window KUNGLIGA TEKNISKA HOEGSKOLAN Sweden EU contribution € 0,00 Address Brinellvagen 8 100 44 Stockholm See on map Region Östra Sverige Stockholm Stockholms län Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Administrative Contact Kenneth Andersson (Mr.) Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window PERSPEKTYVINIU TECHNOLOGIJU TAIKOMUJU TYRIMU INSTITUTAS Lithuania EU contribution € 0,00 Address Vismaliuku str. 34 10423 Vilnius See on map Region Lietuva Sostinės regionas Vilniaus apskritis Activity type Research Organisations Administrative Contact Algirdas Galdikas (Dr.) Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window GEZONDHEIDSDIENST VOOR DIEREN BV Netherlands EU contribution € 0,00 Address Arnsbergstraat 7 7418 EZ Deventer See on map Region Oost-Nederland Overijssel Zuidwest-Overijssel Activity type Private for-profit entities (excluding Higher or Secondary Education Establishments) Administrative Contact Ton De Gee (Dr.) Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window SMART Research BV Netherlands EU contribution € 0,00 Address Geert grooteplein-noord 21 / 126 6525EZ Nijmegen See on map Activity type Private for-profit entities (excluding Higher or Secondary Education Establishments) Administrative Contact Wim Wiegerinck (Dr.) Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window
