AI and Robotic Developments in Australian Horticulture, By Bob Farmer, Dairy Farmer
I am interested in the emergence of AI and robotics into agriculture. While many bloggers here are concerned about things like job displacement via AI, I think there will be many advantages to be had from the use of advanced technologies.
The extract below covers the ground better than a mere dairy farmer who never completed high school could. I am interested in how lasers could be used to control weeds. That is a nightmare problem for me with hillsides to clear for fire prevention in the summer, which is almost here. Robotics in fruit picking would save the government using that excuse to bring in Third World labour, and the job is backbreakingly monotonous and calls out for mechanisation. Overall, I do not see too many problems here, but I suppose people like Brian Simpson here might disagree.
"Fruit-picking robots, pollination drones and weed-killing lasers are re-invigorating Australia's horticultural landscape, bringing one of the world's oldest professions into the 21st Century, thanks to a world-first $60 million investment.
The Hort Innovation Venture Fund (HIVF) intends to provide Australian farmers with high-tech tools to increase productivity and pursue goals of sustainability.
One such piece of technology is the Carbon Robotics Laser Weeder; a sophisticated weed-killing tool that can be mounted to the back of a tractor.
Tractors have been a mainstay in Australian horticulture for well over a century, and although they have remained fundamentally the same, a number of improvements like custom digging tools, harvesting trailers and Bluetooth speakers are bringing them up to date.
Using Artificial Intelligence, the Laser Weeder is able to scan plots of land, identify weeds in their infancy, and fire ultra-hot laser beams at them with millimetre precision.
Simon Raj is the Chief Commercial Officer at Tripod Farmers, a family-owned primary production business from Victoria, said he believes their operation has become significantly more efficient since implementing these newer forms of technology.
"Technology like the laser weeder here really is the future of farming," Mr Raj said.
"It means that we reduce our weed banks going forward … a lot less chemicals are going into the ground … [and we are] really not disturbing the soil too much at all."
Tripod Farmers using a Carbon Robotics Laser Weeder. Picture: Hort Innovation Frontiers
Sarthak Mittal is the lead product engineer at Polybee, a Singaporean company helping Australian tomato growers pollinate their crops through the use of drones.
Tomato farming has been a historically labour-intensive industry, heavily reliant on transient, seasonal workforces.
In recent years, seasonal staff numbers have dwindled, and farmers have faced pressure to maintain consistent output with less hands on deck.
"Using autonomous drones for pollination can allow [farmers] to have more control over the process of pollination, which will eventually result in better pollination rates for their plants" he said.
"Hort innovation has provided us with valuable resources and contacts, which has allowed us to work with some of the biggest growers in this industry."
Gavin Devaney is a banana farmer based out of Boogan in Far North Queensland's Cassowary Coast.
His business, Bartle Frere Bananas, has recently adopted the use of AI technology in order to make its processes more environmentally sustainable.
"Working with Hort Innovation has given us a chance to actually make changes to our practices on the property," said Mr Devaney.
Dr Anthony Kachenko, the General Manager of Production and Sustainability at Hort Innovation, said he believes this world-first venture fund will open up a possibilities for an industry which has struggled to maintain a foothold with consumers in recent years.
"Critical to our role is listening, consulting and working with growers to ensure that their views, their needs and their desires for future investments are met," he said.
"Growers are part of our consultation for providing input into what we invest in and how we invest … largely centred around increasing productivity and helping growers to become more adaptable, resilient and financially sustainable."
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