CalvingPen

How it fits together

CalvingPen, part by part

Scroll or tap a part. Press “See the 3D CAD design” to watch the model, built from our CAD, light each part up and show how it connects.

See the 3D CAD designShow the concept

Real-time 3D render · drag to rotate · final design may varySwipe sideways to rotate

1. 01

   The whole CalvingPen

   The barn Edge Hub watches every calving pen through its PenEye camera and reads the pen's water trough through the same PenEye cable, then rings one bell and fills one app.

2. 02Brain

   IEMI Edge Hub (Raspberry Pi 5 + AI HAT+) in the barn office

   The brain, in a separate hub box (not shown): it runs the calvingpen hub service program

3. 

   03

   Pen camera and IR light

   Sees the water bag or feet, the calf out, and the cow at the trough, day and night

   IEMI Edge Hub (Raspberry Pi 5 + AI HAT+) in the barn office · PoE Ethernet via the PenEye · 1080p video, 2 frames a second used

4. 

   04

   PenEye computer

   Streams the camera and relays the trough head's readings

   IEMI Edge Hub (Raspberry Pi 5 + AI HAT+) in the barn office · PoE Ethernet · Video stream and trough readings each second

5. 05

   Trough level sensor

   Reads the water level from the rim: drinking, supply cut, ice

   IEMI Edge Hub (Raspberry Pi 5 + AI HAT+) in the barn office · RS-485 lead via the PenEye · Level in mm every 15 s

6. 

   06

   Trough head: meter, temperature, heater

   Counts water-meter pulses, reads water temperature, heater current and stray voltage

   IEMI Edge Hub (Raspberry Pi 5 + AI HAT+) in the barn office · RS-485 lead via the PenEye · Gallons, °C, heater on/off, volts on the water

7. 

   07

   BarnBell

   Rings by the bed: stage 2 too long, calf not moving, no water for a fresh cow

   IEMI Edge Hub (Raspberry Pi 5 + AI HAT+) in the barn office · Wi-Fi · MQTT on the farm LAN · Pen, minutes, alarm tone

8. 08

   PoE power for the pen

   One Ethernet cable powers the PenEye, its IR light and the trough head

   IEMI Edge Hub (Raspberry Pi 5 + AI HAT+) in the barn office · PoE Ethernet; 5 V up the lead · 6.9 W at night with IR (est.)

9. 09

   All connected

   7 key parts, one program, and your phone

How the parts connect

CalvingPen, wired up

Every part, what links it to the brain, and how the data reaches your phone. A solid line is a cable; a dashed line is a radio link.

The program

What controls CalvingPen

while True:
    for pen in pens:
        cow = hailo.detect(pen.camera.frame())    # cow box + pose
        pen.state.update(cow, now())              # QUIET..STAGE2..CALF_OUT
        t = pen.trough.read()                     # RS-485 via the PenEye
        pen.water.update(t.pulses, t.level_mm, t.temp_c)
        pen.winter.update(t.heater_a, t.stray_v)
        a = rules(pen.state, pen.water, pen.winter, cow.at_trough)
        if a.bell: bells.ring(pen.name, a.text)   # MQTT on the farm LAN
        if a: app.push(a, clip=pen.clip())
    sleep(0.5)

To your phone

How the data reaches CalvingPen

Farmer's and herd worker's phones; BarnBell by the bed

1. Edge Hub
2. Wi-Fi · MQTT on the farm LAN
3. BarnBell
4. Internet · push and clips
5. Farmer's phone

Key specs

Targets for production units; they may change during development.

Pricing

Target pricing. Bought separately for 4 pens, our CalveClock (hub $449, 4 PenEyes $516, BarnBell $49, $99 a season) and TroughTally with WinterWatch (4 × $298 and a $249 gateway, $36 a bowl a year) add up to $2,455 + $243 a year. Parts cost about $1,799 for a 4-pen kit at qty 1 (est.).

Indicative launch pricing in USD, excluding taxes and shipping. Final pricing is confirmed before any balance is charged.

1. 28 Oct 2026, 11:27LatestA grazing farm needs one thing at each water point that calls a cut supply, a stuck float or ice before the stock go without, and watches the mob that comes to drink: calvings, an animal down, a dog at the water. Water rules keep the float valve and its air gap (Northumbrian Water Guidance Note 9, BS 3445), the welfare rules ask for fresh, clean, unfrozen water every day, and farmers pay about A$749 for a trough monitor (Farmbot) before a flow sensor, a calving camera and a gateway.

   • Now part of FarmOne: https://iemilabs.com/products/farmone/

   See it in 3DFull research and design

2. 27 Oct 2026, 12:39A calving farmer needs the pens watched at night and the water in each pen kept running for the cow that has just calved. Calving-pen advice is a self-filling bowl in every pen, not buckets (Irish Farmers Journal), winter checklists say to check heated waterers and their cords (Penn State Extension), and advisers say a cow should be offered water as soon as possible after calving (TheCattleSite). Our own two products for a 4-pen barn cost $2,455 and $243 a year.

   • New product CalvingPen: the barn Edge Hub runs the calving clock and the water rules for every pen, with one bell and one app
   • Reused CAD parts: CalveClock's PenEye lid and bracket and the BarnBell unchanged, TroughTally's rim clamp, lid and probe sleeve unchanged; the PenEye case gains a gland for the bowl lead, and the bowl head case swaps its radio and batteries for a XIAO RP2040 and an RS-485 board
   • New CAD part: a clip that holds the bowl lead on the gate rail, out of the cow's reach. 10 printed parts, each one solid, every bought part fits
   • 3D view: a straw-bedded 4.5 m calving pen with the steel trough on the gate, the bowl head on its rim, the camera under a purlin in the far corner, a cow lying down and the bell on the office shelf
   • Dropped: TroughTally's LoRa radio, AA cells, aerial and $179 gateway
   • Product page https://iemilabs.com/products/calvingpen/: $2,190 + $149 a year for 4 pens instead of $2,455 + $243 a year separately; parts about $1,799 (est.)

   See it in 3DFull research and design

3. 27 Oct 2026, 12:39A calving farmer needs the pens watched at night and the water in each pen kept running for the cow that has just calved. Calving-pen advice is a self-filling bowl in every pen, not buckets (Irish Farmers Journal), winter checklists say to check heated waterers and their cords (Penn State Extension), and advisers say a cow should be offered water as soon as possible after calving (TheCattleSite). Our own two products for a 4-pen barn cost $2,455 and $243 a year.

   • Combined into CalvingPen (https://iemilabs.com/products/calvingpen/); CalveClock itself is unchanged

   See it in 3DFull research and design

4. 27 Oct 2026, 12:39A calving farmer needs the pens watched at night and the water in each pen kept running for the cow that has just calved. Calving-pen advice is a self-filling bowl in every pen, not buckets (Irish Farmers Journal), winter checklists say to check heated waterers and their cords (Penn State Extension), and advisers say a cow should be offered water as soon as possible after calving (TheCattleSite). Our own two products for a 4-pen barn cost $2,455 and $243 a year.

   • Combined into CalvingPen (https://iemilabs.com/products/calvingpen/); TroughTally itself is unchanged

   See it in 3DFull research and design