As part of the EU-LI-PHE COST Action, researcher Hilla Fred from the Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke) conducted a Short-Term Scientific Mission (STSM) in Leuven, Belgium, from April 2 to May 7, 2025.
Hosted by the M3-BIORES group at KU Leuven, Hilla worked alongside local experts to tackle a key challenge in livestock phenotyping: the lack of publicly available benchmark datasets for tracking farmed animals. The mission focused on harmonizing existing video data from partner institutions and developing a standardized annotation protocol for dairy cow tracking. This effort is an important step toward establishing a robust and open multi-object tracking dataset for the scientific community. During this STSMs, Hilla was mentored by our Vice Chair, Prof. Tomas Norton.
The STSM resulted in the preparation of a collaborative scientific publication outlining the dataset structure, annotation methodology, and dissemination plans. Additionally, the team is planning a public benchmark challenge to engage researchers in both computer vision and animal science fields.
Hilla’s mission strongly aligns with EU-LI-PHE objectives to promote data integration in livestock phenotyping and precision farming. The visit enabled valuable knowledge exchange and hands-on collaboration. Follow EU-LI-PHE open calls for funded mobilities to become the next STSM recipient!
