Blog from November, 2014

We've just returned from another successful trip to the farm. Ladybird scanned corn to detect different varieties of weeds within the crop and beetroot just prior to harvest for yield monitoring and to evaluate the performance of different seed spacings. With harvest occurring all around us, it was great to see Ladybird operating autonomously alongside traditional farm equipment, showing that high-tech autonomous systems can easily coexist with current methods. The farm of the future is nearer than you might think.

 

http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-30143428

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2-6 February 2015
Sydney, Australia
http://www.acfr.usyd.edu.au/education/ssar2015.shtml

Applications due: 8 December 2014 (extended)
General enquiries: ssar2015@acfr.usyd.edu.au

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NEW: Preliminary program now listed at http://www.acfr.usyd.edu.au/education/ssar2015.shtml

The IEEE RAS Summer School on Agricultural Robotics (SSAR 2015) is a new summer school to be held at The University of Sydney, Australia over five days during the southern hemisphere summer, from 2-6 February 2015. SSAR 2015 is supported in part by the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society and The University of Sydney.

Agricultural robotics is an area of growing interest with the potential to bring about profound economic and social benefits. The School aims to promote robotics research that will enable safe, efficient, and economical production in agriculture and horticulture. The School will consist of presentations by world experts covering a broad range of topics in agricultural robotics, hands-on activities that encourage deep learning, and collaboration activities including a student poster session as well as several social events. Attendance is open to graduate students, postdocs, academics, and industry practitioners.

THEMES
The main technical objective of the School is to cover the motivation driving research in agricultural robotics, existing projects and results, and open research problems in key areas of agricultural robotics. Underlying research topics include systems design of outdoor platforms, perception in semi-structured outdoor environments, planning and control for single and multiple robot systems, and manipulators for harvesting and weeding.

The School will include presentations (and opportunities to interact with) representatives from the USDA, GRDC, Horticulture Innovation Australia Limited, and the Cotton Research and Development Corporation.

Please check the website for updates on the detailed technical program.

APPLICATION AND REGISTRATION
Application details can be found on the SSAR 2015 website (http://www.acfr.usyd.edu.au/education/ssar2015.shtml). 
Applications will be processed as received. Spaces are limited so please send your application as soon as possible. 
Applications are due by 8 December 2014.

General enquiries can be addressed to ssar2015@acfr.usyd.edu.au.