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Blog from May, 2014

An information system for horticulture: almonds
James P. Underwood posted on May 29, 2014
We show an end to end system for acquiring high resolution information to support precision agriculture in almond orchards.

The robot drives along the orchard rows autonomously, gathering laser and camera data while passing the trees. Each tree can be automatically identified, and information such as flower and fruit counts is produced. The information can be stored in a database, compared through the season and from one year to the next, mapped and displayed visually.

The Ladybird takes its first strides outdoors
James P. Underwood posted on May 28, 2014
Our first full motion test of the ladybird outside.

We exercise the whole system for the first time, including translation, rotation and combined manoeuvres, including autonomous row alignment and following.

The Ladybird takes its first steps
James P. Underwood posted on May 15, 2014
Meet our newest robot, the Ladybird! A robot we have designed and built for the vegetable industry. In this video, you can see the internal framework and components as it takes its first steps. Stay tuned for more videos as we develop the platform!

We have designed and built this robot as a new research platform to support Australia's vegetable industry. The omnidirectional wheel base allows traversal over most existing farm configurations, treading much more lightly over where existing tractor wheels currently run. In addition to the low weight of the vehicle, the ability to turn each wheel allows precision guidance and manoeuvrability, while minimising damage to the soil. In the undercarriage, the Ladybird carries a variety of optical sensors, including stereo and hyperspectral cameras, and the versatile robot arm enables development in a wide variety of applications, including spraying, weeding, thinning and of course to support harvesting research. We are looking forward to to our first tests on vegetable farm in the coming weeks.

 

CeBIT Future of Robots Exhibit
James P. Underwood posted on May 08, 2014

We exhibited a selection of our robots at CeBIT, with an emphasis on the future of agriculture.