HORTICULTURE has declared itself as perhaps the leading technology-embracing industry among all Australian agriculture with the opening of a robotics centre in Sydney last week.
Assistant minister for agriculture Anne Ruston opened the Horticulture Innovation Centre for Robotics and Intelligent Systems (HICRIS) at the University of Sydney.
The centre itself is located within the University of Sydney Australian Centre for Field Robotics at Camperdown, NSW.
The centre is Australia’s first horticultural robotics learning and development hub.
It will initially host a $10 million commitment to projects in robotics and autonomous technology that aim to increase farm efficiencies.
Horticulture Innovation Australia chief executive John Lloyd said there had never before been this level of innovation in the horticulture industry.
"Through working with the University of Sydney, we have been able to develop technology that can detect foreign matter, robots with that can map tree-crop architecture, and ground-breaking autonomous weed identification and eradication capabilities,” he said.
“Through the Horticulture Innovation Centre for Robotics and Intelligent Systems, this research will be further expanded to investigate capabilities such as automated crop forecasting to predict the best time to harvest and ground penetrating radar sensors to measure things like soil water content."
According to HIA, the centre was established on the basis of calls from industry stakeholders, which have shown to outperform the average Australian business when it comes to adopting new practices and technologies.
Well-know robotics expert Professor Salah Sukkarieh will be based at the centre which will initially have six research fellows, five PhD students and six technical staff.
Australian growers with suitable farm environments for testing may have the opportunity to get involved in the research through equipment trials.
Mr Lloyd said HIA was looking at identifying commercial partnerships with the aim of making these new technologies accessible to growers.
"The development of horticulture technology standards and policies to meet regulations will also be a focus," he said.
Ms Ruston said the centre would support the horticulture industry in defining and monitoring its strategic objectives around robotics and related technologies, and provide opportunities to interact with other agricultural industries interested in robotics.
"Innovation and science are critical for Australia in driving growth and creating jobs—and I'm certainly proud to be part of the Turnbull Coalition Government that has a focus on exactly that," she said.
“There are already tangible outcomes from the work done right here. I know there will be many more in the years to come.
“All industries now face an increasingly fast-paced technological landscape. Horticulture is certainly no exception."
