Overview
Camera recognition reads ear tags so you do not have to key in the number. Herdy recognises two things:
- the barcode carried by Swiss cattle ear tags
- the printed number on tags without a barcode
Recognition runs entirely on your device. No image is stored and none is uploaded.
Where you start a camera scan
- Actions > the Scan ear tag card
- In the animal list, via the round camera button at the bottom right
- In a running recording session, via the Scan ear tag button
Step by step
- Start the scan at one of the places listed above.
- The first time, the page «Allow camera access for scanning» appears with the note that Herdy reads the number directly on the device. Tap Start scanning and allow camera access in the browser.
- Hold the tag inside the bright frame. Above it reads «Hold the whole ear tag or barcode steady in the frame». Only what is inside the frame is read.
- The bar below the frame fills while several frames confirm the same number. That is the safeguard against transposed digits.
- Once the number is settled, Barcode recognised or Number recognised appears at the bottom with the tag in large type.
- Check the number and tap Apply. If it is wrong, tap Scan again.
In low light a lamp icon appears at the top left that switches the device light on and off.
What Herdy tells you about the result
One of the following notes appears below the recognised number:
- This animal is already registered. The tag belongs to an animal on your farm.
- This ear tag is not registered yet. The number was read cleanly but belongs to no animal on your farm.
- Did you mean 12000010001? The number read sits only one or two digits away from a tag you actually own. Use this number corrects the misread in one step.
After applying
What happens next depends on where you scanned.
From the Actions section
Herdy looks the animal up and offers a choice:
- View animal opens the animal profile.
- Record treatment opens the treatment form with this animal.
- Record weight opens weight recording with this animal.
- Health event opens the journal form with this animal.
If it says Animal not found, Herdy offers Register new animal. The scanned ear tag is already filled in, along with the country and, where unambiguous, the species.
If instead it says «The ear tag could not be checked. Check your connection and try again.», the lookup failed. Herdy deliberately offers no «Register new animal» in that case, so you do not create a duplicate.
From the animal list
Herdy opens the matching animal straight away. If the number belongs to no animal, the animal list is filtered by that number so you can see what is close to it.
From a recording session
The animal is added to the session, see Recording Sessions.
Entering by hand
Enter manually closes the camera and returns you to the page you came from. There you type the number into the search field or the ear tag field.
When the camera does not start
Herdy names both the cause and the remedy:
| Message | What to do |
|---|---|
| No access to the camera | Allow camera access in the browser settings for this site. On iPhone: Settings, Safari, Camera. |
| No camera found | The device reports no usable camera. Enter the ear tag by hand. |
| Camera already in use | Another app is holding the camera. Close it and try again. |
| Insecure connection | The camera only works over a secure connection. Open Herdy at its regular address. |
| Browser does not support scanning | Use an up-to-date browser or enter the ear tag by hand. |
| Scanner could not be loaded | On the first scan Herdy downloads the recognition engine once. Connect to the internet once, after which scanning also works offline. |
Tips for clean results
- Close and steady, roughly 10 to 15 cm away.
- Light: in dusk use the lamp icon. Avoid shooting into the light.
- Wipe the tag: crusted tags are hard to read.
- Whole number in the frame: Herdy cannot read digits that are cut off.
Tip: if you record many animals in a row, an electronic reader pays off. It is much faster than the camera, needs no light and does not mind dirt. See Reader for Electronic Ear Tags.