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Friday, November 15, 2024

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AUCKLAND FIRM USING AI TO DETECT DISEASE IN LIVESTOCK


Aimee Shaw

November 15, 2024
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MACSO began developing its technology for pigs, and has plans to expand into
health monitoring for cows and poultry.Adam Simpson / SUPPLIED

An Auckland deep tech firm is creating artificial intelligence capable of
detecting early disease in livestock to help reduce unnecessary deaths.

Multi-sensory fusion company MACSO creates AI-enabled sensor audio devices ‒
which look like lamps and are hung in livestock quarters ‒ to listen for signs
of respiratory illness. It recently ran trials in the United States and Europe
on pig farms and is producing promising results.

Research conducted by a number of independent studies on more than 5000 pigs
concluded that the technology can detect illness in swine between 16 hours to
six days earlier than human detection using artificial intelligence (AI)
monitoring.






Its technology monitors the health of the herds and informs farmers and vets for
medical intervention. When used on farms the death rate was reduced from an
average of 4.8% down to 1.4%.



Interestingly, its AI runs on its hardware, and not in the cloud.

MACSO's AI-enabled sensors change colour on detection of signs of animal
illness.Supplied

The Auckland CBD-based firm was founded by computer scientist Saba Samiei in
2021, and plans to expand its offering to cater to poultry and cattle and
eventually the domestic pet market.

MACSO chief executive Saba Samiei said the company was trying to solve the
problem of reducing animals deaths as demand for meat grows, while also bridging
the skills gap in industries such as agriculture, where technology and
specifically AI was rarely utilised.

“We're using AI and sensors to basically replicate some of the capabilities of
how a human being monitors animals to provide a 24/7 monitoring solution to
farmers for early disease detection,” Samiei told The Post.



“Once we conquer the livestock world, we are going to go into pets as well to be
across all animal health monitoring,” she said.

Samiei was born in Iran and moved to India at age 16 to finish her high school
and undergraduate studies, then moved to New Zealand to further her study.

As a by-product of enabling better health for animals, MACSO wants to work to
reduce the amount of antibiotic consumed in livestock for healthier meat for
humans.

Separate research by Oxford Analytica shows that controlling disease in
livestock can reduce carbon emissions, poverty, hunger and malnutrition, Samiei
cited.

She hoped her technology demonstrated how AI could be used for the greater good
- and not something to be feared.

“You have AI for health and safety, marketing, facial recognition, things that
we deal with on a day-to-day basis. But there are many things before that that
impact our lives, things such as agriculture and manufacturing, and this really
intrigued me. While the rest of the world is focusing on replicating the part of
the brain that mimics text, vision and logic, I want to create an AI that mimics
the sensory part, which is basically our basic survival instinct.”

MACSO chief executive Saba Samiei says her platform has the ability to
revolutionise animal health management.Supplied

MACSO is undergoing a pre-series A round, seeking $1.5 million to fund the next
wave of its expansion, and a series A round next year to raise up to $4m.

Further funding would be required to expand into chicken and cow health
monitoring.

So far the company has raised $4m in funding. It went through Callaghan
Innovation and Bridgewest Ventures deep tech incubator in 2021.



Samiei said the company was on the cusp of a new wave of growth, with the
business expected to grow significantly over the next two years as it locked in
a number of lucrative distribution contracts.

Next year it anticipates its technology will be in use in South East Asia, Latin
America, and more European countries.

“We are currently in contract negotiation with three distributors, and my aim is
that by the end of 2026 we will be on board with every major pork producing
company in the world.”

MACSO said the scope for growth was vast, and it could use its technology to
help vets have better control over disease management plans, animal health
companies, insurance and genetic companies.

“This is enabling a whole new type of AI. It's making it accessible to a
completely different industry, and taking it to places where internet
connectivity isn't very strong, enabling users to ride this wave of AI.”

-

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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