Newcastle University

Research at the University's Cockle Park farm was the focus of BBC One's Countryfile this week, while experts from the Transport Operations Group assess the impact driving can have on our health for Inside Out.

Pigs on film

The TV crew were in Northumberland to find out more about the cutting-edge research being carried out by our scientists to improve pig welfare on farms.

Led by PhD student Sophia Stavrakakis, presenter Adam Henson was given an exclusive insight into how motion capture technology is being used to prevent lameness in pigs.

“Lameness among livestock is a major problem for farmers,” says Sophia, whose project brings together experts from the schools of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development and Mechanical and Systems Engineering at Newcastle University.

“Female breeding pigs are particularly prone to leg problems and this makes it costly for farmers when an animal becomes lame because of the time and money invested in the breeding stock.

"Using biomechanical motion capture we are able to measure the animals’ gait – tracking a number of animals to find the right angulation and locomotion.  Through this we hope to be able to develop a farmer-friendly system that will allow them to identify those pigs with better legs, a trait that can be passed on to subsequent generations.”

The programme also featured the work of Professor Sandra Edwards to develop an alternative to the traditional farrowing crate.

Darren Blomfield, the farm's head stockman, explains: "The new design takes into account not just the welfare of the piglets but also the needs of the sow."

Adam adds: "It's great that farming is embracing new technologies and developments all the time and I'm warmed by the fact that our pig industry is in good hands."

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Counting the cost of congestion

Experts from the Transport Operations Research Group (TORG) kitted out commuter Suzanne Tait with eye tracking goggles and a bio-belt to assess how driving can impact on our health.

Phil Blythe, Professor of Intelligent Transport and project lead, explained: “As the traffic became more congested around the Angel of the North and Washington Services you could see Suzanne's heart and breathing rates rise and her eyes were all over the place trying to keep track of all the traffic around her.

"And it's not just our health it having an impact on.  Every year on the A1 alone the cost of people being delayed and sitting in their cars instead of being at work is around £75million.

"We need to be introducing intelligent traffic management systems to ease congestion and improve the conditions on our roads."