Deep learning-based UAV framework for automated morphological and growth analysis of feedlot cattle.
| dc.contributor | JIANGLONG YAN, UNIVERSIDADE DE SÃO PAULO; EVERTON CASTELÃO TETILA, UNIVERSIDADE FEDERAL DA GRANDE DOURADOS; LIANG ZHAO, UNIVERSIDADE DE SÃO PAULO; RIAN C. GONÇALVES, UNIVERSIDADE FEDERAL DA GRANDE DOURADOS; LETÍCIA F. CASTANHEIRO; LUCAS P. VALEM, UNIVERSIDADE DE SÃO PAULO; JAYME GARCIA ARNAL BARBEDO, CNPTIA. | |
| dc.creator | YAN, J. | |
| dc.creator | TETILA, E. C. | |
| dc.creator | ZHAO, L. | |
| dc.creator | GONÇALVES, R. C. | |
| dc.creator | CASTANHEIRO, L. F. | |
| dc.creator | VALEM, L. P. | |
| dc.creator | BARBEDO, J. G. A. | |
| dc.date | 2026-03-02T11:48:45Z | |
| dc.date | 2026-03-02T11:48:45Z | |
| dc.date | 2026-03-02 | |
| dc.date | 2026 | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2026-07-07T04:18:35Z | |
| dc.description | Accurate and continuous monitoring of cattle development is essential to optimize feedlot management and determine the most profitable slaughter period. Traditional weighing procedures are labor-intensive, intrusive, and difficult to scale, highlighting the need for automated, non-invasive longitudinal monitoring frameworks. In this study, we propose a UAV-based computer vision framework that integrates high-resolution aerial imagery with deep learning techniques to track the morphological development of beef cattle throughout the production cycle, rather than directly estimating body weight. A subset of images was annotated to fine-tune YOLOv11s for cattle detection, while instance-level body contours were extracted using SAM 2.1 without additional training. An automated filtering strategy retained only well-posed standing animals, enabling consistent extraction of morphological features such as body length, width, and Width-to-Length ratio (W/L), a scale-invariant proxy of body condition over time. Longitudinal, population-level analysis of Nellore cattle monitored over 112 days revealed a clear sigmoidal growth pattern, well described by a logistic model, and the growth curve uncovered three biological phases: lag, rapid development, and plateau, allowing the framework to qualitatively determine an appropriate economic marketing window. These results demonstrate the practical value of the proposed framework for scalable, data-driven precision livestock management in commercial feedlot environment. | |
| dc.identifier | Computers and Electronics in Agriculture, v. 245, 111559, Apr. 2026. | |
| dc.identifier | http://www.alice.cnptia.embrapa.br/alice/handle/doc/1184800 | |
| dc.identifier | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compag.2026.111559 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/457347 | |
| dc.language | eng | |
| dc.rights | openAccess | |
| dc.subject | Pecuária de precisão | |
| dc.subject | Pecuária de corte | |
| dc.subject | Gado de corte confinado | |
| dc.subject | Monitoramento de crescimento de gado | |
| dc.subject | Modelagem de crescimento de gado | |
| dc.subject | Extração de características morfológicas | |
| dc.subject | Seleção automática de gado | |
| dc.subject | Visão computacional | |
| dc.subject | Aprendizado profundo | |
| dc.subject | Deep learning | |
| dc.subject | UAV imagery | |
| dc.subject | Cattle growth monitoring and modeling | |
| dc.subject | Morphological feature extraction | |
| dc.subject | Automatic cattle selection Precision | |
| dc.subject | Computer vision | |
| dc.subject | Beef cattle | |
| dc.title | Deep learning-based UAV framework for automated morphological and growth analysis of feedlot cattle. | |
| dc.type | Artigo de periódico |
