Yo, farmers, upgrade Bessie the Cow by connecting her guts to the cloud (seriously)

You know those weeks when you just have a feeling your cow is getting constipated, but you’re not quite sure whether it’s time to change her diet?

Me, too. That’s why I’m really excited about the Well Cow monitor.

Yes, this is a pill-sized device that you put into Ol’ Bessie’s feed, and once the cow swallows it, it monitors its digestive system. The pill can last in her rumen for up to 100 days, reporting back to a small Bluetooth device on her collar. Farmers (or the run-of-the-mill cow owner?) can collect the data through their Android or PC and investigate those bovine intestines.

The company, which is based in Scotland, created the monitor using ARM’s MBed development platform, according to Engadget. The device looks at the pH levels and the temperature inside the rumen and records this information every 15 minutes. Changing dietary needs may lead to better milk supplies and happier cows, which is obviously what we all want.

I can only imagine how technologically advanced our cows can get — they already have permanent “window-like” holes installed in their sides. But while we’re all over here worried about what happens when you hack Internet-connected devices like refrigerators and heating/cooling systems, I don’t want to even think about what happens when you hack a cow.