Optimal energy storage solution for an inductively powered system for dairy cows

© 2017 IEEE. In order to remain cost competitive, dairy farmers are equipping their animals with automatic health monitoring systems. An important obstacle for integrating these systems is the high energy consumption of the on-cow components. A solution is wireless charging of the automated system at a feeding trough by inductive coupling. We developed an inductively powered system that is charged each time the cow eats at a feeding trough. We study which energy buffer is preferable for this application: rechargeable Li-ion batteries or supercapacitors. From measurements at a dairy farm, we obtain that the rate at which energy is captured is too high for an efficient use of Li-ion batteries. Supercapacitors are able to store energy at a very high rate, making them better suited for this application.