# Artificial intelligence-based dairy cattle behavior recognition for estrus detection via ensemble fusion of two camera views

**Authors:** Panawit Hanpinitsak, Tatpong Katanyukul, Norrawit Tonmitr, Chanon Suntra, Sora-at Tanusilp, Arthit Phuphaphud

PMC · DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0340999 · 2026-01-16

## TL;DR

This paper introduces a system using AI and two camera views to detect estrus in dairy cattle by analyzing their behavior.

## Contribution

The novel contribution is an ensemble fusion system combining top-view and front-view CCTV data for accurate estrus detection.

## Key findings

- The system uses YOLOv8 models to detect and classify six key cattle behaviors.
- Estrus-related behaviors like riding and chin resting are accurately identified through synchronized camera views.
- Decision-level ensemble improves the accuracy of behavior recognition by integrating multi-view data.

## Abstract

Monitoring cattle behavior plays an important role in improving farm productivity, maintaining animal welfare, and supporting efficient management practices. This study presents a multi-view behavior recognition system that uses synchronized top-view and front-view CCTV footage, combined with deep learning techniques. The system includes four main components: cow identification, behavior classification, identity-behavior association using Intersection-over-Union (IoU), and a decision-level ensemble to combine information from both views. YOLOv8 models are applied separately to each camera angle to detect individual cows and classify six key behaviors: drinking, eating, standing, lying, riding, and chin resting, with the latter two being relevant for estrus detection. The system matches cow identities to their behaviors within each view and then integrates the results to produce a final activity label for each cow.

## Full-text entities

- **Species:** Bos taurus (bovine, species) [taxon 9913]

## Figures

8 figures with captions in the complete paper: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC12810773/full.md

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Source: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC12810773