A robot roaming fields, weeding 24 hours a day as a drone manages irrigation from the sky could be part of a tech-heavy future for the region’s veggie growers.
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Farmers were wide-eyed as robots, drone and solar demonstrations gave an indication of what the future may hold at the Riverina Vegetable Innovation Field Day in Yoogali on Wednesday, run by VegNET.
Close to 100 people came along to view and give feedback on cutting-edge projects to improve profitability and sustainability.
“Australian farmers are at the forefront of innovation and adapting new technologies and robotics have really captured the imagination of people,” Matthew Plunkett, industry development officer for VegNET, said.
“I’ve no doubt in the future we’ll see widespread adoption of these kinds of projects.”
On show was the Robot for Intelligent Perception and Precision Application (or RIPPA, for short) from Sydney University’s Australian Centre for Field Robotics (ACFR).
The four-wheeled robot is being developed for large scale mapping for crop intelligence, weeding and precision spraying.
“Agricultural robotics is starting to become a very active area, but it is relatively new technology,” Developer Zhe Xu from ACFR said.
RIPPA will continue to be refined and developed over the next three to four years.
VegNET is run by Hort Innovation Australia to communicate vitally important research-based information to Aussie growers and is funded using vegetable levy and government money.
