'Bull Proofing' the Moocall HEAT

View the Moocall sensor Despite being so simple to use, the Moocall HEAT sensor is designed in a very sophisticated way.

It took hundreds of hours of careful testing tweaking and painstaking redesign to make sure you get the best heat detection experience technology can offer.

Almost 50 dairy farms were involved in testing the Moocall HEAT system throughout development.

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How it’s put together

The battery is split in two, and is stored in the 2 sections of the collar closest to the ground. The first charge can take up to 12 hours, so we recommend leaving the collar charging overnight.

Once charged fully, the system can last up to 60 days without needing another charge.

Meanwhile, the two green sections at the tips of the ‘horseshoe’ contain the heat detection hardware and aerial.

‘Bull-proofing’ the system was one of the most important aspects of designing Moocall HEAT collar. When you’re attaching it to a bull for 60 days at-a-time you need a hardy product!

The collar has a compartmentalised design. This means each module can be individually replaced and repaired.

The bull knows best

Most of the time, there’s no point even fighting the bull on his strength.

This is why the Moocall HEAT collar has flexible joints: They are designed to flex and move as opposed to resisting. They work around him.

The collar’s power switch is indented so that the bull isn’t able to switch it off by scratching, leaning or falling asleep on it.

Strapped in

One of the most absorbing aspects of the design process was one of the most low tech; the strap.

For the final design, our team landed on a robust rock climbing buckle and strap. This rugged strap is known for its toughness, making it ideal for farm work.

However this wasn’t the only thing that was tried along the way – the team experimented with 8-10 types of buckles, belt loops and even Velcro.

One challenge they had to overcome was cows unbuckling the bull’s belt; you might say that it’s natural enough, considering the business he’s in!

This is where rock climbing equipment beats off its competition. You have to click both sides at once to open it. Other buckles half-unlocked and ended up opening later.

Upside-down

The battery design was crucial in how the product ended up looking. Initially, the sensor was meant to sit on the back of the bull’s neck.

Our team played with the idea of solar power for a long time, but given how easily the panels can break, or how inefficient it would be when it was (inevitably) covered in muck, it was scrapped.

However as batteries got heavier the team figured it would be silly to try and fight gravity so it was flipped it upside down leaving the battery at the bottom and the buckle at the top.

Now, gravity is at our advantage – the collar is designed like a pendulum so that even if it does end up the wrong way, it will always return to the position it’s supposed to be in.