Use of robotics in broiler production systems: a relationship between technology, environment and production.

Abstract

In poultry farming, robotics is represented by robotic models which perform different functions. Among these functions, ambience is one of the most critical, as the aviary is an artificial environment which needs to present all the necessary conditions for the thermoregulatory maintenance of animals. This paper is a review of the technological status of robotics, ambience and associated technologies in modern poultry farming. A combination of two methodological literature review techniques (systematic and bibliometric) was used to identify how robotics is being used in poultry farming, its relationship with the environment and trends. Thresholds for various ambience parameters (such as thermal, chemical and physical) were evaluated based on data from the literature. Results showed several robots which perform different functions in poultry houses and the environment is characterized as just one of the possibilities and that presents deficiencies due to the lack of high-performance communication, thus preventing assertive decision-making. Most of the research was carried out in the last four years, with China, the United States and the United Kingdom being the countries which published the most. The trends are that computer vision is the most exploited technology in robots related to production automation (e.g. handling and navigation) and artificial intelligence and the internet of things related to robots in the production system (e.g. ambience and information management).