Apparatus And Method For Assessing Compliance With Animal Welfare On An Animal For Slaughter

Abstract

An apparatus for assessing compliance with animal welfare on an animal for slaughter. The apparatus has an image capture unit with a capture region in which a section of a surface of the animal is optically captured and in which pixels are captured. The capture unit provides pixel data in a transmittable manner. The apparatus has an evaluation unit connected to the capture unit to capture the pixel data. A normative model of the animal is stored in the evaluation unit and represents a formation of animal-related features conforming to animal welfare. The evaluation unit relates the pixel data to the model and determines a deviation of the pixel data from the model and provides the deviation as a deviation of the animal from the model in a form that can be output. A method for assessing compliance with animal welfare is carried out on the apparatus.

Claims

1-10. (canceled)

11. An apparatus for assessing compliance with animal welfare on an animal slaughter, the apparatus comprising: an image capture unit with an image capture region for optically capturing a section of a surface of the animal for slaughter and for recording pixels in said capture region, said image capture unit providing pixel data of the pixels in a transmittable form; and an evaluation unit connected to said image capture unit for recording the pixel data, said evaluation unit storing a normative model of the animal for slaughter, the normative model representing a formation of animal-related features complying with animal welfare indicators, said evaluation unit relating the pixel data to the normative model and identifying a deviation of the pixel data from the normative model, and said evaluation unit providing the deviation in a transmittable form as a deviation from a standard of the animal for slaughter.

12. The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the image capture unit has a plurality of image cameras, each image camera of said plurality of image cameras has a respective image capture sub-region

13. The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the deviation from the standard is classified and provided in a classified, transmittable form.

14. The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the deviation from the standard is assignable to a dataset related to the animal for slaughter.

15. The apparatus according to claim 11, further comprising external units which are triggered on the basis of the deviation from the standard.

16. The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein said image capture unit includes at least one depth camera with a depth camera capture region, the section of the surface of the animal for slaughter is optically captured in the depth camera capture region and pixels are recorded in the depth camera capture region, the image capture unit provides spatial coordinates of the pixels in a transmittable form.

17. A method for assessing compliance with animal welfare on an animal for slaughter, comprising: providing an image capture unit with an image capture region for optically capturing a section of a surface of the animal for slaughter and for recording pixels in the capture region, the image capture unit providing pixel data of the pixels in a transmittable form; providing an evaluation unit connected to the image capture unit for recording the pixel data, the evaluation unit for storing a normative model of the animal for slaughter, the normative model representing a formation of animal-related features complying with animal welfare indicators, and the evaluation unit for relating the pixel data to the normative model and identifying a deviation of the pixel data from the normative model and for providing the deviation in a transmittable form as a deviation from a standard of the animal for slaughter; a) capturing the pixels with the image capture unit; b) providing the pixel data of the pixels captured by the image capture unit in a transmittable form; c) recording the provided pixel data with the evaluation unit; d) comparing the pixel data recorded with the normative model in the evaluation unit; e) determining an existing deviation of the pixel data from the normative model in the evaluation unit; and f) providing the deviation as a deviation from the standard in a transmittable form with the evaluation unit.

18. The method according to claim 17, further comprising, after the process step f), classifying the deviation from the standard and providing the deviation from the standard in a transmittable form with the evaluation unit.

19. The method according to claim 17, further comprising, after the process step f), assigning the deviation from the standard to a dataset related to an animal for slaughter.

20. The method according to claim 17, further comprising, after the process step f), triggering external units on the basis of the deviation from the standard.

Description

[0091] In the following, the invention is explained in more detail by means of schematic drawings. They show:

[0092] FIG. 1 Schematic diagram (top view) with schematic representation of the animal for slaughter,

[0093] FIG. 2 Schematic drawing (lateral view).

[0094] FIG. 1 shows an apparatus of the invention for assessing compliance with animal welfare on an animal for slaughter 1 in a top view with the animal for slaughter being only schematically represented.

[0095] The apparatus of this invention comprises an image capture unit 2 with an image capture region 3, wherein the image capture unit 2 consists of four image cameras 2.1 to 2.4 with each having an image capture region 3.1 to 3.4., and wherein the image capture region 3 is composed of the image capture sub-regions 3.1 to 3.4.

[0096] According to this invention, pixels can be recorded on the surface of the animal for slaughter 1 in the image capture region 3, wherein the image cameras 2.1 to 2.4 of this invention are arranged such that the image capture sub-regions 3.1 to 3.4 partially overlap each other so that the entire surface of the animal for slaughter 1 can be recorded in the image capture region 3.

[0097] The image capture unit 2 of this invention is capable to provide pixel data of the pixels recorded in the image capture region 3 in a transmittable form.

[0098] The pixel data are in particular area coordinates and color values of the pixels recorded.

[0099] As shown in FIG. 1, the apparatus comprises an evaluation unit 4 which is connected to the image cameras 2.1 to 2.4 and, consequently, to the image capture unit 2 and which can gather the pixel data of the image capture unit 2.

[0100] FIG. 2 additionally shows a lateral view of the apparatus of this invention in which the animal for slaughter 1 is a pig for slaughter and has scratch marks 6 in the back part of its body.

[0101] The scratch marks 6 constitute a deviation of the animal for slaughter 1 from a previously defined formation of an animal-related feature which indicates that the animal for slaughter 1 was not kept in compliance with animal welfare regulations.

[0102] For the sake of clarity, FIG. 2 only shows the image cameras 2.3 and 2.4 with their image capture sub-regions 3.3 and 3.4 completely. The other image cameras 2.1 and 2.2 are only outlined in this figure.

[0103] According to the invention, a normative model of the animal for slaughter 1 is stored in the evaluation unit 4, and said model represents a formation of the animal welfare indicators that complies with animal welfare regulations. In other words, the normative model represents an ideal condition of the animal for slaughter 1 which demonstrates compliance with animal welfare and is free of any injuries due to animal husbandry not conforming to animal welfare regulations.

[0104] In this embodiment, the normative model particularly comprises the color and representative outer contours of the animal for slaughter 1, for example ear or tail shapes.

[0105] According to this invention, the basis for assessing compliance with animal welfare is given by the capability of the evaluation unit 4 to compare the captured pixel data with the normative model and to automatically record the deviation of the pixel data, caused by scratch signs 6, from the normative model.

[0106] Subsequently, the evaluation unit 4 can provide the detected deviation from the standard, on which the assessment of compliance with animal welfare is based, in a transmittable form.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

[0107] 1 Animal for slaughter [0108] 2 Image capture unit [0109] 2.1 to 2.4 Image cameras [0110] 3 Image capture region [0111] 3.1 to 3.4 Image capture sub-regions [0112] 4 Evaluation unit [0113] 5 Tubular rails [0114] 6 Scratch marks