In Nepal, Wearable Tech is Saving the Herd

https://vimeo.com/228425841

Echo Innovators is a wearable device for livestock that monitors vital signs

Melisha Ghimire is a computer engineering student from Nepal, a country whose economy is dominated by agriculture and livestock. She became interested in technology and came together with friends to learn about machine learning and artificial intelligence. They entered Appathons and events by Microsoft and other companies, and decided to enter the Imagine Cup, a worldwide technology competition sponsored by Microsoft, with a project called Echo Innovators.

Echo Innovators is a wearable device for livestock that monitors vital signs like a FitBit does for humans. The information is sent to Microsoft’s Azure cloud, where it is constantly monitored and analyzed for temperature, step count, stress level, sleep pattern and pregnancy status. Readings are sent through graphs along with easy to understand insights. Machine learning results combined with an expert knowledge base provide the best actionable recommendations, sending that information back to farmers.

In Nepal, two-thirds of the population makes its living from livestock. Trained veterinarians are practically non-existent. For subsistence livestock farmers, the loss of a few animals can be devastating. Technology like Melisha’s Echo Innovations has the potential to change the economic outlook for much of the nation.

About Melisha Ghimire:

Melisha Ghimire is a student of computer engineering in Nepal. She loves exploring technology and solving people’s biggest problems through the use of technology. Melisha enjoys traveling, listening to music and spending time with nature. Her company, Echo Innovators, is the winner of numerous appathons and competitions and was one of the top 54 teams worldwide competing in the 2017 Imagine cup.

For more information, visit ICT Frame or Tech in Asia

This article was originally published in the Huffington Post .

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