Agri-Tech – Entrepreneurial Futures project

Supporting agricultural businesses to use research, technology and data to develop sustainable farming practices
Soil testing equipment being used in a field.
The Agri-tech strand of Entrepreneurial Futures is supporting farmers, growers, and land managers in the agricultural sector through the Agri-Robotics Cornwall project. Through the project they will to co-develop and adopt technology that helps farming practices to become more productive while reducing environmental impacts and increasing biodiversity.
The University will work with farms across Cornwall to develop five smart sites where emerging technology will be trialled and demonstrated with farmers and land managers. Engagement with farmer requirements will align developing research to agri-business needs and enable the co-design of new research questions.  
Initial activities will focus on two areas – blending sensor technology with autonomous robotic platforms and imaging drones to deliver high spatial resolution data on-farm, and protocols for post-processing of data that make it useful and relevant to agri-business needs.  
Data-led land management decisions will allow farmers to develop systems to improve policy compliance for schemes such as ELMS, while monitoring environmental impact.  
Hands-on demonstration and training in on-farm tech deployment and development enables local farmers in Cornwall to be at the forefront of the Food Security agenda, with evidence-informed decisions that make farming practices more resilient.    
How new technology can help farmers to monitor and improve soil health 
Dr Jennifer Rowntree explains how in-field research is essential in validating new sensor technology and approaches to soil analysis, and why agri-tech could help to improve soil biodiversity and the health of our farmlands. 
Dr Jennifer Rowntree in the field

Our Research, Design and Innovation offer

Soil analysis in the field.
Soil health
Developing and validating protocols for passive soil composition assessment and mapping using portable gamma spectrometry
Environmental data for agri-tech
Environmental technology
Developing and validating agri-business application of AI plant recognition tools coupled with autonomous quadruped robots
Agri-Tech Unitree robot dog
Robotics and sensors
Understanding agri-sector perspectives and needs from robotics and sensor technology

Support for businesses  

If you are an agricultural business in Cornwall or the Isles of Scilly interested in collaborating on research or learning how agri-tech could enhance your business, contact Yve Metcalfe-Tyrrell . 

Agri-Tech handheld soil scanner
Knowledge Exchange
Exposing agri-business to agri-tech and environmental tech applications through reciprocal knowledge exchange
Multispectral agri-tech drone
Data
Provision of field scale aerial drone survey multi-spectral data, certified soil quality data and accompanying novel spatial sensor surveys
ELLIE, robot dog, agri-tech research
Training
Hands-on demonstration and training for tech deployment

The Centre of Research excellence in Intelligent and Sustainable Productive Systems (CRISPS) 

Our agri-tech research makes major contributions to the wider economy. We work with regional farmers to develop technologically-integrated solutions for sustainable farming, using big data, animal-mounted sensors and practical, in-field robotics to analyse animal movement and welfare, environmental impact and crop health, leading to improved efficiency and cheaper costs. 
Centre of Research excellence in Intelligent and Sustainable Productive Systems (CRISPS) hero

Grown That Way

This video explores some of the work already underway with one of our business assists, Grown That Way. Kenny Wilding-Raybould, the director and project leader of the charity, explains how the adoption of agri-tech has enabled them to understand their land, pinpointing areas with challenges such as nutrient run off, plant health issues and compaction.
Kenny also discusses how he hopes to see communities engaging with agri-tech to create new jobs, new access and new possibilities in the horticultural sector, to enhance growing experience and lead to more effective approaches.
Mr Jake Shaw-Sutton demonstrates the argi-tech available, including robot dogs, drones and robotic traction unit. 
 
 

Agri-Tech team

 
 
 

Nurturing, embedding and accelerating an entrepreneurial culture in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.

Find out more about the Entrepreneurial Futures project.

Entrepreneurial Futures