How wireless network can keep cows burps under control

[bobito]

 By dropping electronic devices into the stomachs of cows and networking them together, researchers hope to reduce the climate-warming farts and burps they produce.

Emissions from livestock - much of which is methane released when they burp - are a serious component of global greenhouse gas emissions. To be able to control the problem of measuring how much cows burp while they're roaming around the paddock,  McSweeny and colleagues developed a gas-sniffing submarine that lives in a cow's stomach.

The device stays in the stomach for weeks and measures gas concentration using infra-red sensors. A pair of wings pops out after it enters the stomach and stops it from moving beyond the rumen - the chamber in a cow or sheep's stomach where much of the gas production occurs.

Successful tests let the the creators imagine farms of networked, low-methane cows, with farmers able to monitor how gassy they are, and manage their feed in real time.

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