2018 2nd International Conference on Smart Sensors and Application (ICSSA)

Bird Counting and Climate Monitoring using

LoRaWAN in Swiftlet Farming for IR4.0
Applications
Ahmad Rizan Ibrahim, Nik Hisham Nik Ibrahim, Ahmad Nizar Harun, Mohamed Rawidean Mohd Kassim, Shamsul Effendy Kamaruddin
MIMOS Berhad, Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation
Kuala Lumpur, MALAYSIA
{rizan, nik.hisham, nizar.harun, dean, shamsul.kamaruddin}@mimos.my

Gunawan Witjaksono
Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS
Tronoh, MALAYSIA
gunawan.witjaksono@utp.edu.my

Abstract—In recent years, the edible swiftlet bird nest is a
growing industry in Malaysia. Farmers simulate the swiftlet’s
habitat in buildings widely known as swiftlet bird houses. The
suitability of the environment or condition in these houses are
largely unknown as there seems very little research effort is
done in this newly formed industry. This paper presents a real-
time environment monitoring and control system utilizing
wireless sensor network such as LoRaWAN. The monitored
sensor data include humidity, temperature, oxygen, and
luminance were recorded in a swiftlet bird house in Terengganu.
Ambient and indoor humidity, temperature and oxygen level
variations were also investigated. Internet of Things (IoT) and
video analytics which are part of Industrial Revolution 4.0 (IR
4.0) technologies are used in this project. The studies have
shown that the combination of suitable temperature, humidity
and oxygen inside the swiftlet bird house will increase the
amount of edible bird nest.
Keywords— IoT, IR4.0, Swiftlet Farming, Video Analytics,
Temperature, Relative Humidity, Light Intensity, Sensors, WSN,
LoRaWAN
I. INTRODUCTION
Internet of Things (IoT) can be understood as the
ubiquitous and global network that helps and provides the
functionality of integrating the physical world. This is done
through the collection, processing and analysis of data
generated by IoT sensors and will be integrated through the
public communication network. Some projections estimate
that in 2020 the number of connected equipment will grow
exponentially to 50 billion [1].
Application of Cyber-Physical Systems (CPSs) and IoT in
industrial automation domain led to the definition of the
Industrial Revolution 4.0 (IR4.0) concept [2]. IR4.0 alludes to
a fourth industrial revolution enabled by Internet technologies
to create smart products, a smart production, and smart
services. The high-tech strategy was originally developed in
Germany and the term has quickly become a buzzword on a
global scale [3].
Lately, the Edible Bird Nest (EBN) has been attracting a
lot of interest, especially from China due to the high nutrient
contents, minerals and anti-oxidants; believed to promote
good health and increase longevity [4]. Due to the high
nutraceutical values the demand for EBN has increased
dramatically. As such houses for swiftlets have been
developed to provide an artificial habitat so that swiftlets can
build their nest and can be easily monitored and harvested.
EBN is made with saliva or more commonly known as
Swiftlets. Swiftlet is a type of birds similar to swallows,
sparrows and house swifts. The five most common species of
Swiftlets found in Malaysia and Borneo Island are H. Gigas,
C.Esculent, Asian Palm Swift, A. Maximu and A.Fuciphagus
[5]. A.Fuciphagus is a particular species of Swiftlet that
produces EBN and only available in Southeast Asia region.
The most expensive nest is white nest, which is produced by
A. Fuciphagus.
The swiftlet industry in Malaysia has grown since the 18th
century, when the majority of nests were collected from caves.
Malaysia is a very fortunate country because it has large
regions of green areas, forests and variety of plantations
including palm oil and rubber. These areas are sources of food
for swiftlets. Hence, this industry has expanded incrementally
in the last few years and it is expected to grow continuously.
The global demand for EBN has increased drastically. Asia
has the highest demand for EBN. Most of the estimated 160
tons per annum of EBN produced is consumed, and most are
consumed by China [6]. In Hong Kong a bowl of bird nest
soup could cost USD30 to USD100 while a kilogram of white
nest (around 90 to 120 nests) can cost up to USD2, 000.
The swiftlet farming industry is expanding and need a
system to monitor, control, provide feedback and early
prediction to create a more suitable environment. This project
investigates the feasibility of deploying Wireless Sensor
Network, LoRaWAN for monitoring and controlling a swiftlet
farm. This paper can be a reference for swiftlet farmers to
establish a more hygienic and conducive condition in the
swiftlet houses. Figure 1 shows an example of edible bird-nest
collected in Malaysia.
Fig.1 Edible Bird-Nest

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 2018 2nd International Conference on Smart Sensors and Application (ICSSA)
The above system is discussed in detail, including the
architecture. Section II will discussed the WSN and the
Swiftlet farming in Malaysia. Section III will discuss in detail
the Swiftlet Bird Nest System. The results and discussion of
the collected data and the performance of the system will be
discussed in Section IV. The conclusion section will highlight
the key points and suggest the future improvements of this
system.
II. WIRELESS SENSOR NETWORK AND SWIFTLET FARMING
Figure 2 shows the flowchart of swiftlet farming activities.
The above flowchart starts with the construction of bird house,
harvesting the EBN, cleaning process of EBN and finally
marketing of the EBN.
Fig.2 Flowchart of Swiftlet Farming Activities
Figure 3 shows the layout of the Swiftlet bird house. The
house consists of 3 levels. The sensor nodes are installed at
each level of the house and a camera is installed to monitor the
movement of swiftlets.
Fig.3 Layout of the Swiftlet House
Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) provides effective and
economically viable solutions for a large variety of
applications including Swiftlet farming. WSN is a very
important component in IoT and integrates the knowledge of
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34
sensors, control, digital network transmission, information
storage and processing.
WSN market is forecasted to become $2 billion in year
2022 [7, 8].
Fig.4 WSN Node Architecture [9]
Figure 4 shows a general WSN node architecture. Each
sensor network node consists of a sensor module, processor
module, communication module and power module using
battery [10].
III. SWIFTLET BIRD NEST SYSTEM (SBNS)
The Swiftlet Bird Nest System (SBNS) architecture consist of:
i. Solar power system
ii. Sensor nodes
iii. Access Point
iv. Gateway/Router
The solar panels are installed on the roof top. Every sensor
node in the Swiftlet house will measure temperature, humidity
and oxygen data and send the data to the Gateway/Router. The
gateway is located near the sensor field and sends the data to
the server (cloud). The server collects sensor data, processes
and transmits the processed data via Internet to the end user.
The end users can access the monitoring system either using
Android mobile phone or computer.
Figure 5 shows the Sensor Node connection. Each Swiftlet
house (Block) consits of 3 sensors nodes; one at each level.
The monitoring system is developed to improve Swiftlet Eco
Park (SEP) bird nest productivity and to maintain the bird
house ecosystem by monitoring the temperature, humidity,
and oxygen.
 2018 2nd International Conference on Smart Sensors and Application (ICSSA)
Fig.5 Sensor NODE Connection
A. System Features
In general the SBNS has the following features:
• Internet Access
The sensor networks at the Swiftlet farm will be accessible
via Internet. This is an essential aspect of monitoring
application that supports remote interactions with server at
central office.
• Sensors
The deployed sensors will measure temperature, relative
humidity and oxygen level of the bird’s nest unit at each
building/loT/floor.
• Networking
The Gateway/Router at the swiftlet farm needs sufficient
resources to host Internet connectivity, local server for video
analytic and database systems. The Wi-Fi network is for local
connectivity while GSM/3G is for communication with
server. The main function of this Gateway/Router is to
provide Internet connectivity to relay the sensor data back to
dashboard server located hundreds of kilometers away.
• Data Archive
Database/server is essential for record keeping purposes and
analysis for automated controlling. The data readings of
temperature, relative humidity and oxygen are send to a
server using Wi-Fi. End users can monitor and view the
current, extended, and historical and gauge reading. The
sensor data will be sent to the server every hour.
• Video Analytic
This module aims to count the number of birds entering and
leaving the swiftlet house through the main window. The
number of birds entering and leaving the swiftlet house will
be send to the server.
B. Software Applications
Figure 6 shows the Android-based mobile applications for
SBNS.
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35
Fig.6 SBNS Apps for Smart Phones
The above application consists of the following features:
• Venue/Location
This feature allow user to choose the location/venue of the
swiftlet house they want to view.
• Real Time Data
View for single node at chosen location. User can view data
readings for temperature, humidity and oxygen in the
following format:
i. Gauge view
ii. Text View
iii. Graphical View (for comparison)
iv. Historical View (1 day and 7 days)
v. Video Analytic Camera
Video analytics of surveillance camera will provide bird
counting features that allow user to track bird coming in or
out of the Swiftlet bird house.
• Surveillance Camera
User will be able to monitor the activities around the bird
house via surveillance cameras placed at strategic places
through low resolution video clip upon request.
• Weather Information (from Google)
Weather status (sunny, rainy, windy etc.) at a glance.
Extended view will allow user to view weather at different
sites.
C. Swiftlet Bird Counting Applications
One of the important features in SBNS is the swiftlet bird
counting application. This application will help to keep track
the number of birds in and out of the Swiftlet house. The
environment condition inside the Swiftlet bird house will be
controlled based on the number of Swiftlet birds and at the
same time help to identify the best environment conditions
for attracting more birds.
Figure 7 shows the process flow for swiftlet bird counting.
A high density (HD) infrared camera is installed in each of
the Swiftlet house. The camera will capture the picture at an
 2018 2nd International Conference on Smart Sensors and Application (ICSSA)

interval of one minute, this is done at Network Video

Recorder (NVR). The picture plus an intrusion algorithm is
used to count the number of birds entering or leaving the bird
house, this is done through Network Unique Counter (NUC).
The data will be sent to the server and users can access this
data through their Android-based smart phones or PCs.

Fig.10 Temperature Inside the Swiftlet House

Figure 10 represents the temperature (Celsius) reading at

each block at 1 pm from 9-12 February, 2018. The average
Fig.7 Swiftlet Bird Counting Process Flow temperature at each block based on the data in Figure 10 is
31.92 Celsius.
IV. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The Swiftlet bird counting data in Figure 8 and Figure 9
shows the average number of birds per day that have entered
and left the Swiftlet bird house for the last 4 days. In the Figure
8 and Figure 9, block 1 and block 2 represent the Swiftlet
house.

Fig.11 Humidity Inside the Swiftlet House

Figure 11 represents the humidity level at each block for

4 days. The average humidity at each block based on the data
Fig.8 Swiftlet Birds entered the House in Figure 11 is 63.1%.

Fig.9 Swiftlet Birds Left the House Fig.12 Oxygen Level Inside the Swiftlet House

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36
 2018 2nd International Conference on Smart Sensors and Application (ICSSA)
Figure 12 represents the measured oxygen level at each
block for 4 days. The average oxygen level at each block
based on the data in Figure 12 is 19.42 %.
There are several factors that encourage the Swiftlets to
enter the bird house. This includes the design of the bird
house, the temperature, humidity and oxygen level inside the
bird house and finally the environment surrounding the bird
house.
V. CONCLUSIONS
The remarkable medical effects of EBN reported in recent
scientific literature has helped to increase the demand for
RBN especially in Asia. Besides that, historically RBN has a
high demand since it has been included as a contemporary
functional food in Chinese cuisine. As more bird nest
products are developed, such as cosmetics products as well as
health products, the future of the bird’s nest industry looks
very promising. This has led to the fast growth of swiftlet
farming, especially in Malaysia and other the region of South
East Asia, where swiftlets can find abundant food sources and
suitable climate. The SBNS used in this project helps the data
collection activities and further analysis of these data will
help to find out the most optimum values of temperature,
humidity and oxygen level that will encourage more birds to
enter the bird house. In general, this will ultimately help to
develop the EBN industry especially in Malaysia.
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