CROP assessment could soon be less labour intensive with new robot technology proving its potential in SA.
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The Ladybird could collect a large amount of accurate data more rapidly and accurately.
Researchers from SARDI and the Australian Centre for Field Robotics at the University of Sydney recently conducted world-first grain crop testing of the $1-million autonomous field robot prototype, known as ‘Ladybird’.
Developed by the University of Sydney, the solar-powered unmanned ground vehicle uses satellite navigation to move up and down rows in the field, capturing a range of plant health data with sophisticated sensory technology.
It was used on a series of SARDI crop trials in the Lower North.
The pilot study, funded through the Plant Biosecurity CRC and GRDC, also compared the robot’s accuracy against the researchers, who were also gathering the same information.
At the moment, assessments of plant health is by eye or hand measurements, which is labour intensive.
The trials found the Ladybird could collect a large amount of accurate data more rapidly and accurately in a single field visit and handle both wet and dry conditions, smoothly moving across field plots at about five kilometres an hour.
It also had the potential to help farmers with crop management decisions.
- Details: grdc.com.au
