Researchers tested a camera method on pigs weighing 30 to 100 kilograms in seven pens.
Seven pens supplied the video
Researchers from Aarhus University and KU Leuven reported a computer-vision study in the October 2026 issue of Applied Animal Behaviour Science. Their recordings covered seven pens of growing pigs weighing 30 to 100 kilograms. The training set contained 48 hours of video from three pens; a separate 24 hours from three pens was used for validation. Two full days from another pen supplied the full-day test.
Feeder and drinker occupancy was measured
The system located each pig, its head direction and snout in each frame, then calculated whether it occupied a feeder or drinker. Balanced accuracy exceeded 0.97 for feeding and 0.93 for drinking in the tested video, with errors below 45 seconds per hour. Sampling one frame every 10 seconds reduced analysis of a pen-day to six to seven minutes. The paper reports occupancy measurements under the recorded pen conditions.