Hendrix Genetics – Turkey Body Weight Prediction #SWI2019

Hendrix Genetics is a Dutch multi-species animal breeding, genetics, and technology company and one of the world’s leading breeders and distributors of turkeys.

An important characteristic of turkey breeding is body weight. In a recent trial, approximately 200 turkeys were walked individually through a corridor in which a force plate was placed. During each walk, force plate output voltages (eight channels) were captured for approximately 15 seconds at 100 Hz, logging the walking behavior. Along with the force plate records, the actual bodyweight of the birds was measured using a scale. These scale body weight records are considered as the gold standard.

We are interested to discover a model that can accurately predict turkey body weights using a force plate, removing the need to manually weigh the birds on a scale. The challenge of this project is to develop an innovative model to predict body weight and maybe other features from the plate measurements.

A model is considered accurate enough when the mean average error is 50 grams.