{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,7]],"date-time":"2026-08-07T17:13:34Z","timestamp":1786122814032,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":37,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"16","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,7]],"date-time":"2026-08-07T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1786060800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"TCB Avgidis Automations S.A."}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Sensors"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Wearable sensors provide significant potential for continuous animal monitoring. However, the practical implementation of such technologies on livestock farms for animal monitoring raises significant challenges related to power efficiency, robustness, and reliability. In this research paper, we propose the design, implementation, and field testing of a low-energy, low-cost, multi-sensor wearable collar specifically designed for continuous monitoring of ruminants using LoRa. The proposed collar is based on a modular hardware platform that incorporates inertial sensing, temperature sensing, and wireless communication, with special attention to sensor choice, location on the body, casing, and mounting mechanism. Reduced weight, environmental protection, and long-term wearability without affecting animal behavior are the primary focus in the hardware design. Power optimization management strategies, including sleep mode and duty cycling functionality, are implemented to maximize autonomy and battery lifetime and are evaluated under realistic operating scenarios. Field deployment was conducted in a ruminant farm, where the wearable devices operated flawlessly for a long time period. Characteristic sensor data are collected, including accelerometer readings induced by animal movement, variability in received signal strength (RSSI), and animal temperature. The system demonstrates stable operation, satisfactory data completeness and consistency on multi-day basis. The knowledge acquired brings into focus the practical challenges and design issues associated with the use of wearable sensors in livestock and offers insights into designing efficient sensor collars for precision livestock farming.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/s26165019","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,7]],"date-time":"2026-08-07T11:44:53Z","timestamp":1786103093000},"page":"5019","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Design Considerations, Field Validation and Perspectives of a Low-Power Wearable Sensor Collar for Continuous Monitoring of Ruminants"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"26","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0006-3847-5660","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Maria P.","family":"Nikolopoulou","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of Farm Structures, Department of Natural Resources Management & Agricultural Engineering, Agricultural University of Athens, Iera Odos 75 str., 11855 Athens, Greece"},{"name":"R&D Department, TCB Avgidis Automation S.A., 11744 Athens, Greece"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0006-0641-1478","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Aikaterini-Artemis","family":"Agiomavriti","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"R&D Department, TCB Avgidis Automation S.A., 11744 Athens, Greece"},{"name":"Laboratory of Anatomy and Physiology of Farm Animals, Department of Animal Science, School of Animal Biosciences, Agricultural University of Athens, Iera Odos 75 str., 11855 Athens, Greece"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7675-842X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Dimitrios","family":"Loukatos","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of Farm Machine Systems, Department of Natural Resources Management & Agricultural Engineering, Agricultural University of Athens, Iera Odos 75 str., 11855 Athens, Greece"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Dimitrios","family":"Grivas","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"R&D Department, TCB Avgidis Automation S.A., 11744 Athens, Greece"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Nikolaos","family":"Xotzempekoglou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"R&D Department, TCB Avgidis Automation S.A., 11744 Athens, Greece"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1144-3918","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Athanasios I.","family":"Gelasakis","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of Anatomy and Physiology of Farm Animals, Department of Animal Science, School of Animal Biosciences, Agricultural University of Athens, Iera Odos 75 str., 11855 Athens, Greece"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5778-6644","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Konstantinos G.","family":"Arvanitis","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of Farm Machine Systems, Department of Natural Resources Management & Agricultural Engineering, Agricultural University of Athens, Iera Odos 75 str., 11855 Athens, Greece"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8858-6389","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Konstantinos","family":"Demestichas","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of Informatics, Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development, Agricultural University of Athens, Iera Odos 75 str., 11855 Athens, Greece"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5962-9909","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Thomas","family":"Bartzanas","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of Farm Structures, Department of Natural Resources Management & Agricultural Engineering, Agricultural University of Athens, Iera Odos 75 str., 11855 Athens, Greece"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,7]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"100408","DOI":"10.1016\/j.sbsr.2021.100408","article-title":"Digital Livestock Farming","volume":"32","author":"Neethirajan","year":"2021","journal-title":"Sens. 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