(Pocket-lint) - You've probably heard of the phrase Internet of Things. It refers to the idea that everything can be connected to the internet to share data.

It's a huge buzz word in the gadget industry at the moment. Over the last couple of years we've seen everything from phones to tablets to light bulbs to basketballs to even an umbrella that could connect to the internet to tell you it was about to rain, but now, even cows are getting connected.

Yes, you read that right, the Internet of Cows is now a thing. As seen in Twitter user @danielthomasldn's posting on Twitter.

Created by a startup called Smartbell and posted on the @startup_people Twitter feed, the idea is by using sensors attached to cows, farmers will not only be able to see the location of the cow in the field by looking at an app on their smartphone or tablet, but also check their welfare for things like lameless.

The sensor, which is worn around their leg, tracks a range of data points like temperature, pulse, respiration, and movement, sending that data to a dedicated app allowing the farmer to track their herd at any given time.

The company behind the new device says the tracker has the potential to save farmers millions of pounds a year.

Cattle lameness is one of the most significant welfare and productivity issues in dairy farming today. Studies over the last 25 years have indicated that few significant improvements have been made in dairy cow lameness incidence in that time, yet there is increasing awareness of lameness (or mobility) problems in the industry, with training and accreditation for cattle foot trimming; and greatly increased understanding of how lameness can impact on cow welfare, and thus productivity and longevity.

Writing by Stuart Miles.