Tech to lead the way for farming
Specialists showcase ag tech
CUTTING-EDGE technology advances promise to revolutionise the agricultural industry, but traditional farming knowledge is far from obsolete.
University of Southern Queensland’s Professor Craig Baillie led a group of agriculture specialists in discussing a brave new world for their industry at a Queensland Division of the Ag Institute Australia event on April 26.
The conference featured AIA’s AGM and award ceremonies, while also exploring the topic Artificial Intelligence and Deep Learning in Agriculture.
Professor Baillie, director of USQ’s National Centre for Engineering in Agriculture, spoke on the importance of technological advancement coupled with existing understanding.
“NCEA is innovating in the areas of automation, robotics, machine vision, precision agriculture, irrigation and bioenergy,” he said.
“Technologies developed through this research are world leading.
“Right now we’re seeing a massive increase in mass consumer electronics, which has helped fuel rapid advancements in agricultural technologies.
“But it’s important that we remember practical experience, otherwise known as domain knowledge, is connected with the growing use of ag tech.
“This knowledge is crucial to understanding which problems we should focus on and the appropriate technology solution to get the best outcome.”
The AIA event included a tour of NCEA, which involved a hands-on display of ag-tech developed by researchers such as Associate Professor Bernadette McCabe who spoke about her work in bioenergy; and Dr Alison McCarthy’s irrigation system, which uses sensors and artificial intelligence to improve irrigation efficiency.
Dr Cheryl McCarthy detailed her work in machine-vision systems like automatic recognition technology on drones.
“These are drones to automatically perform crop scouting operations and provide specific information to the farmer in real-time about areas in their field that need further action, for example, weed spot spraying or identification of diseased areas,” she said.
“Visitors to this event have been given an early look at this work, and can see how work turns from ideas and concepts on the ground to practical outcomes.”
NCEA specialises in developing solutions for a sustainable and profitable rural sector through applied engineering research, training and commercialisation.