Cameras that spot lameness before you can see it — telling you which cow and which leg, so you can treat her faster and keep her in the milking string.
Every cow walking through your parlor deserves a closer look — not just a head count. HerdSense catches lameness early, before it costs you — so you can protect your herd, your margins, and your milk check.
Finalist · 2026
Resident · 2026
The Problem
lost per lame cow, per day
(Sprecher et al. 1997)
Up to 1 in 4 cows is lame at any given time. Most are not showing it yet.
Adjust the sliders to see what lameness may be costing your operation right now — and what early detection could save.
Each dot represents 1% of your herd. The industry average is 25% — meaning 1 in 4 cows is lame at any given time.
Based on: Robcis et al., J Dairy Sci 2023; Whay et al., Vet Record 2003; UW Extension 2022
HerdSense mounts right on your existing chutes and alleys. No wearables, no ear sensors — just cameras that quietly score every cow, every time she walks by.
Tap a glowing point to learn more
Thermal imaging reads heat in the hoof and lower leg — flagging early inflammation days before a cow starts favoring a leg. That's the window where treatment actually works.
Automated locomotion scoring that measures back arch, stride length, and head bob — the same gait markers your hoof trimmer looks for, checked every time she walks through. No manual scoring needed.
Combines thermal, depth, and video for lameness scoring on every cow — catching problems at score 2, before they become clinical, and pinpointing the affected limb so you know exactly where to look.
All processing happens on a device in your barn — no video ever leaves the property. Works fully offline, with or without internet. Your herd data is yours.
Reads each cow's RFID ear tag automatically, so every alert is tied to a specific animal — not just herd averages. You see exactly who needs attention.
No wearables to put on. No sensors to attach. HerdSense bolts onto what you already have and starts working right away.
We walk your chutes, alleys, and parlor exits — the places cows show lameness first. That is where the cameras go. Everything mounts right onto your existing setup — no ripping anything out, no contractor bills.
Our team mounts the cameras on your existing chute or alley — clamps, cables, and edge device. We're in and out in an afternoon — you milk right through it.
Every morning, you get a short list: which cows need the trimmer, which need a vet check, and which ones to keep an eye on. Each one shows which leg and how urgent it is — so you know exactly where to start.
Every day of undetected lameness costs you.
Our 2026 pilot opens with a handful of dairies — catch it before it shows up on your milk check.
Join the Pilot"Severe lameness at higher scores is obvious to see, but usually too late. The money is in the lower scores."
From 28 conversations with dairy operations across 6 countries — 80-cow family dairies to 4,700-cow operations.
"I do think we pick up a lot of them too late. We have automatic gate releases so the cows walk themselves to the dairy — means we don't spot any lame ones."
"We have made no gains in identifying health issues using the collar data and alerts, and anecdotally those with other collar types haven't made many gains either."
"Catching small changes early usually saves a lot of trouble later. That daily observation is underrated."
"Rumination monitor collars help but eyes on animals is still the best way to determine animal health."
"I looked at activity monitoring but hate the idea of changing collars or tags."
You have already seen what lameness costs. Here is what your operation looks like when you catch it weeks earlier.
An alert came in overnight: Cow 2317, right rear, early-stage lameness, high confidence. By the time you walk the barn, you already know who to pull and which hoof to check.
You treat her Tuesday instead of discovering her Friday. That is three fewer days of milk loss, a simpler trim, and a cow that stays in the milking string — not the hospital pen.
You hand them a ranked list: these six cows, these specific legs, sorted by urgency. No more pulling 40 cows through the chute to find the 6 that actually need work.
Trimmer visits get shorter. Fewer cows stressed for nothing. Your trimmer starts trusting the list because it is right — and they tell the dairy down the road.
One pen is throwing more lameness flags than the others. You check the flooring, adjust stocking density, talk to your nutritionist. You catch a facility problem at 3 lame cows, not 15.
This is the difference between reacting and managing — between a small problem and a five-figure problem. That is how the system is built to pay for itself — by catching what you could not see yet, over and over.
Simple monthly pricing, billed per cow. Hardware is a one-time cost — no hidden fees, no long-term contracts. The system is designed to pay for itself inside six months through milk you keep, trims you prevent, and cows that stay productive longer.
We combine veterinary training, data science, and hands-on farm experience with a single focus: catching lameness earlier. Our advisors have spent their careers in livestock health and dairy research.
Conducting her thesis research on HerdSense's lameness detection system — bridging clinical veterinary science with what actually works on the farm. Veterinary medicine student at the University of Nicosia with clinical placements across dairy cattle and goat operations in Cyprus, Germany, and the UK.
Trained in actuarial science, now applying risk quantification to livestock health. Background in risk analysis at Allianz and data science at SF Fire Credit Union — pivoted from financial modeling to building a system that pays for itself by catching lameness early. Kent and UC Davis.
Built the computer vision pipeline from the ground up, drawing on neuroscience training to read how cattle move — turning raw camera footage into actionable lameness scores. Computational systems research at Princeton, analytics from UC Davis.
Led product adoption at HubSpot for four years, now applying the same playbook to get HerdSense onto farms that need it. Marketing degree from Howard, analytics from UC Davis. Leads go-to-market and customer success.
Assistant Professor of Animal Reproduction at the University of Nicosia. Former clinician at UC Davis Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital and the University of Florida. Advises on clinical validation and veterinary standards.
Robert W. Glock Endowed Chair and Professor of Marketing at UC Davis. 29+ years of research, published in Marketing Science, Management Science, and 50+ other journals. Co-founded the UC Davis MSBA program.
We are selecting dairies for our first on-farm pilots starting late 2026. You get the hardware installed free and help us make sure it works for your operation.