Challenge To automate the laborious task of pollination within protected cropping greenhouses.
Solution By developing a prototype of an autonomous robotic platform that can integrate with the firm’s proprietary pollination system. The project team worked on creating and demonstrating navigation algorithms that enabled the robotic platform to perform crop row enter and exit behaviours. The team will also design an end-effector for integrating the industry partner pollination apparatus.
Impact The insights and results from this project highlight a significant reduction in labour hours and costs in horticultural practices. The project’s success in automating the pollination process and its potential for extended capabilities, including crop monitoring and possibly fruit picking, pave the way for a new era of efficiency and automation in agriculture.
