JD.com’s fintech unit promises to lower cost of pig farming with new digital tools

Facial recognition technology is widely used in China for everything from opening bank accounts to catching jaywalkers – but the one thing these applications have in common is they target humans. Now the technology is being used on pigs and that may soon extend to cows and sheep if the finance arm of tech giant JD.com has its way.

In Beijing on Tuesday, JD Finance rolled out its so-called stockbreeding intelligent solution, a package of digital tools including machine vision, artificial intelligence-enabled analytics, robots and internet of things technologies, to help the country’s farmers raise better animals at lower cost.

The company is currently working with China Agricultural University and the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences to test the smart solution on pigs although it pledges to bring the technology to more animals and “digitise traditional agriculture practices”.

The move is part of a broader strategy to expand beyond its traditional fintech business, which includes a new brand name. At the same event in Beijing, JD Finance unveiled a new brand – JD Digits – to accommodate its foray into more sectors, including smart cities and digital marketing.

JD Digits’ machine vision technology tracks and identifies pigs using overhead cameras. At the basic level, the system is able to measure the growth of each pig, monitor their health and control room temperature.