Maynooth University aims to develop agri-robot
Gerry Lacey, Professor of Electronic Engineering, Maynooth University and Graham Caulwell, Head of Sustainability & Compliance, Irish Distillers, Maynooth University pictured L-R at Maynooth University's Robot Farm.
IN probably the smartest partnership between booze and Uni yet considered, Irish Distillers and Maynooth University Ireland are developing an agri-robot to improve the sustainability of cereal crop production through a two-year bursary.
The project will use mobile farming robots, with sensing solutions and vertical solar panels to monitor and manage cereal cultivation to optimise yields and resource utilisation while delivering a ecosystem that nurtures soil health, biodiversity, and long-term environmental vitality.
Maynooth University is a leader in pioneering theoretical and experimental research into field and service robotics, with a particular focus on applications where robots and humans collaborate to solve problems.
The University Campus is home to a 1Ha Robot Farm and a Sustainability Research Station.
As part of this research project, test plots at the Farm were planted this Spring with a variety of crops and monitored regularly throughout the summer with 3D cameras and soil testing before being harvested in Autumn.
The robotics team has developed new imaging techniques that use both the shape and colour of the plants leaves to automatically determine plant health.
