ByHaldun
Robolit Consulted Start-Up Receives $2.7M First Round
Vence Corp., a California based start-up, received $2.7M in new funding from a group of investors led by Eniac Ventures with participation from the venture capital arm of the Dutch investment bank, Rabobank, which focuses on innovative food and agriculture technologies.
Early prototype cattle mounted Vence systems.
Robolit has been working with the Vence team since the beginning of the project as a technology development consultant. In a short period of time starting late December 2016 we designed and developed several iterations of the proof of concept system. While our primary contribution was the algorithmic basis of the animal management system, our work also covered the implementation of electronic and software components that make up the prototype. We also conducted several field tests in Arizona and California with the Vence management.
A scene captured during our last field trip to San Fransisco, CA to test the Vence prototype system.
Vence aims to revolutionize cattle management with far reaching implications for food security and reduction of the ecological impact of meat production. We are extremely proud to be part of this amazing team and looking forward to future collaborations.
ByHaldun
All Vence Team meets at the Ranch
The entire Vence team gathers at the Hecianto Corona, the ranch where we will be conducting our experiments for the second field trip in the coming week. The desert is rather cold in the mornings but fortunately gets quite pleasant as hours pass.
We have setup a small herd of five cattle with our brand new experimental collar in a medium size corral. Our experiment management station has a perfect vantage point allowing us to observe the herd behavior without disturbing the animals.
ByHaldun
Pulling All Nighters at the Temporary Workshop
No field test is complete without pulling a few all nighters. We discovered a few issues with our experimental collar design in the first day at the ranch. The entire team is hard at work to apply the necessary changes before the next set of tests.
We setup a
temporary workshop at a hotel near by the ranch where we will be conducting experiments. At this home away from home we have all any hacker would need from 3D-printers to sawing machines.
ByHaldun
Vence Field Test #2 Starts
After a busy three day preparation the second Vence prototype development field trip started. We are at a new ranch in Negoles, Arizona, USA for this work. 
Our tests will look into both individual and group level behavioral responses to stimulation. In the first day of this nine day trip we tested our brand new cattle collar containing our sensor package and stimulation system.