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Monitoring the poultry hatching process through IoT devices and data insights

Product innovation

Sensors

Cloud

Google Cloud Platform

Our client - Belgabroed - is an international poultry specialist. Together with the team at Belgabroed we shaped and built their IoT-powered monitoring product NestBorn which measures key parameters throughout the on-farm hatching process, giving farmers greater assurances that there are no anomalies in their production.

Challenge

Prior to our cooperation, the Belgabroed already created a proof of concept (PoC) application with a hardware device making key measurements during the on-farm hatching process. Our challenge was to turn that PoC into a robust digital solution that would be ready for global expansion.

Solution

We shaped and built an entirely new software architecture and codebase to capture sensor data with a new generation of hardware devices and present insights and alerts to operators in the field. We reverse engineered the old hardware devices in order to make sure these can be used in the new application and assure continuity for clients.

Approach

We took a deep dive into the daily operational realities of the on-farm hatching process. We conceptualised a entirely new user experience through clickable prototyping in Figma and mapped out a new cloud-native architecture. Afterwards we gathered a dedicated product team to build the solution in a short timeframe.

Shaping a digital solution in support of real-world activities

When tasked with defining the functional specifications of the NestBorn product, we had one key resource we could tap into: the extensive expertise of the Belgabroed team. They walked us through their processes and indicated how they would imagine a technological solution to assist in their daily activities.

IoT device research

It was clear from the get-go that we would be interfacing with existing hardware solutions from Petersime, a hatchery technology specialist. We created a proof of concept with their IoT device Ovoscan, inputting the raw IoT data into an Influx database.

Product design

We mapped out the end-user journey for operators in the field when they roll out NestBorn on site with clients, from the device installation towards the configuration and monitoring. Through detailed clickable prototyping, we made sure all stakeholders were aligned on the product development journey ahead.

Building a cloud-native digital infrastructure

We created a custom cloud-based product to process the sensor data streams and visualise key insights to farmers in a responsive web application.

Technological choices

We opted for a cloud-native architecture with Google Cloud Platform and a time series database (InfluxDB). The back-end consists of Node.js microservices, serving a React.js front-end application. Due to the use of containers and serverless components, the system is ready to scale globally.

Dealing with legacy data

We needed to support legacy devices used in the previous system. These devices upload files to a bucket, which our microservices then pick up, parse, and ultimately upload into Influx, our time series database.

Hardware-software interaction

Working with the new sensors, Petersime’s intuitive API (Eagle Trax) allows us to fetch pre-parsed data at regular intervals, which we then upload into Influx in the same way as the legacy data. This significantly simplifies the process, and our integration with Petersime was one of the smoothest we've ever experienced.

From conceptualisation towards production in under 4 months

Thanks to our prior experience in building similar IoT-based solutions, we were able to hit the ground running. We then gathered a dedicated team to build the product from end to end in true co-creation with our client: shared tooling, communication channels and joint daily standups.

Team composition

We believe in the power of small teams with a clear delivery mandate. The NestBorn product consisted of one engineering manager, one front-end and one back-end engineer, with the support of a product designer. Having such a lean team made sure there was no overhead and all processes ran smoothly.

Operating model

We set up agile operating routines in a two-week sprint rhythm with a bi-weekly planning session, daily standups and an extensive product demo at the end of each sprint. We worked in complete transparency and true co-creation with our client.

When working inside farms, there are a ton of environmental parameters to consider for a successful hatching process. We found a knowledgeable and trustworthy partner in Panenco to turn our ideas into reality. Thanks to an effective joint operating model, the development process of NestBorn went incredibly smoothly.

Joachim De Backere‍

Product owner NestBorn

Working on NestBorn was a true joy for us as it resonated with a lot of our prior work for clients like SoundTalks and CHARP, turning IoT sensor data into actionable insights and timely alerts.

We wish the Belgabroed team the very best of luck as they will be rolling out this solution to clients globally. We’ll be happy to keep supporting you every step of the way.