THE GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO DEVELOP AND DEMONSTRATE A NEW CO-ROBOT SYSTEM OF AUTONOMOUS UNMANNED AIR VEHICLES (UAVS) FOR MONITORING THE HEALTH OF CATTLE HERDS, THUS IMPROVING MANAGEMENT PRACTICES. EVERY YEAR, OVER 2.5 MILLION U.S. CATTLE, VALUED AT $1.5 BILLION, DIE FROM HEALTH PROBLEMS. IN CONTRAST, ONLY 220,000 CATTLE ARE LOST ANNUALLY TO PREDATORS. POOR LIVESTOCK HEALTH IS THE SINGLE BIGGEST CAUSE OF CATTLE LOSS--ACCOUNTING FOR OVER 60% OF ALL LOSSES. IMPROVED HEALTH MONITORING CAN REDUCE HERD LOSS AND THUS, HELP TO SECURE AN ESSENTIAL SOURCE OF FOOD. UNLIKE POULTRY AND SWINE, GRAZING BEEF CATTLE SPEND A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF TIME OUTSIDE OF CONFINEMENT, WHICH MAKES CENTRALIZED MONITORING DIFFICULT. ALTHOUGH NECKBANDS FOR CATTLE MONITORING EXIST, THESE DEVICES ARE EXPENSIVE, CUMBERSOME, AND RARELY USED IN PRACTICE--REGARDLESS OF THE SIZE OF THE OPERATION.WE PROPOSE A NEW CO-ROBOT MULTI-UAV SYSTEM EQUIPPED WITH VISION-SENSING CAPABILITIES THAT WILL UNIQUELY IDENTIFY EACH COW IN AHERD, AND PROVIDE DAILY MONITORING OF EACH COW'S PHYSICAL LOCATION IN PASTURE AS WELL AS KEY HEALTH INDICATORS SUCH AS FACIAL FEATURES, VOLUME, WEIGHT, AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY. ALL OF THESE MEASUREMENTS WILL BE OBTAINED USING A GROUP OF COLLABORATIVE UAVS THAT PATROL THE HERD AND USE NON-INVASIVE MEASUREMENT METHODS. SIGNIFICANT ADVANCES IN COMPUTER SCIENCE, COOPERATIVE CONTROL, AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERING, AND LIVESTOCK SYSTEMS MANAGEMENT ARE NEEDED TO UNLOCK THE POTENTIAL OF CO-ROBOT MULTI-UAV SYSTEMS FOR CATTLE HEALTH MONITORING AND PRECISION LIVESTOCK MANAGEMENT.THIS PROJECTS MERITS INCLUDE: 1) NEW CONTROL METHODS FOR UAVS TO HERD AND IMAGE CATTLE COOPERATIVELY; 2) NOVEL COMPUTER VISION ALGORITHMS TO IDENTIFY, MEASURE, AND TRACK CATTLE IN THE FIELD; AND 3) THE FIRST STUDY TO QUANTIFY THE RESPONSE OF LIVESTOCK TO UAVS. WE PROPOSE A PRACTICAL TWO-TIER SENSING-AND-CONTROL APPROACH USING AN OBSERVER UAV AND MULTIPLE WORKER UAVS. THE HIGHER-ALTITUDE OBSERVER UAV DETERMINES THE RELATIVE POSITION AND ORIENTATION OF THE WORKER UAVS AND CATTLE. WORKER UAVS HERD AND IMAGE CATTLE USING FIXED-MOUNT CAMERAS. COMPUTER-VISION TECHNIQUES PROVIDE 3-DIMENSIONAL COW MODELS, FACIAL IMAGES, AND MOVEMENT MODELS FOR EACH COW. WITH REGARD TO 3), THIS STUDY WILL QUANTIFY THE RESPONSE OF CATTLE TO UAVS AND ESTABLISH INTERACTION GUIDELINES. ONE OF THE NOVEL COMPONENTS IS ESTABLISHING THE CATTLE FLIGHT ZONE FOR UAVS, WHICH WOULD ALLOW FOR FUTURE STUDIES TO MORE ACCURATELY DESIGN SENSORS FOR LIVESTOCK APPLICATIONS. OBSERVING THE POTENTIAL CHANGES IN PHYSIOLOGICAL AND BEHAVIORAL STATES OF CATTLE DUE TO UAVS WILL ALLOW FOR THE POTENTIAL STRESS TO BE DETERMINED.THIS PROJECT WILL MAKE TRANSFORMATIONAL PROGRESS ON THE USE OF AUTONOMOUS COLLABORATIVE UAVS FOR MONITORING CATTLE WELFARE AND THUS, IMPROVE THE SECURITY OF A CRITICAL FOOD RESOURCE AND IMPROVE THE ECONOMIC OUTLOOK FOR RURAL BEEF PRODUCERS. THE SIGNIFICANCE OF BEEF PRODUCTION FOR KENTUCKY CANNOT BE OVERSTATED. THE PROPOSED CO-ROBOT MULTI-UAV SYSTEM HAS THE POTENTIAL TO TRANSFORM BEEF-PRODUCTION PRACTICES FOR OVER 1/2 MILLION SMALL-FARM PRODUCERS ACROSS THE U.S. AND 38,000 IN KENTUCKY ALONE. THIS TECHNOLOGY COULD REDUCE THE CATTLE-MONITORING BURDEN ON THESE PRODUCERS, THUS MAKING THE LIVES OF BEEF PRODUCERS A LITTLE EASIER AND IMPROVING ANIMAL WELFARE. THE TECHNOLOGY THAT WE WILL DEVELOP ALSO HAS APPLICATION TO ANIMAL SCIENCE AND COULD BE USED TO STUDY A VARIETY OF OTHER LIVESTOCK (E.G., SHEEP, GOATS AND HORSES) OR EVEN WILD ANIMALS.