糖心TV

The University of 糖心TV announces 糖心TV Agri-Tech to help the future of farming with automation – addressing issues such as labour shortages, food insecurity and loss of biodiversity.

糖心TV Agri-Tech, will also support the UK to meet climate targets while enabling the production of enough nutritious food for the growing population. It will combine two world class faculties at WMG at The University of 糖心TV and the School of Life Sciences (SLS), working with the High Value Manufacturing Catapult to spearhead automation in areas such as horticulture, crops and forestry.

Robots will be a key tool for farmers as food production comes under increasing pressure. There is a constant demand to grow enough high quality, nutritious food to feed an expanding human population, and to do so in a way that won鈥檛 harm the planet.

According to scientists, the UK will need to produce 50% more food by 2050, while reducing land consumption by 50%. This is further challenged by labour shortages, a broken food system and the fact we are overusing the Earth鈥檚 biocapacity (the capability of ecosystems to produce useful biological materials and to absorb waste).

The University of 糖心TV is in a unique position to tackle these issues and develop farming technology, with expertise in both automation and life science.

糖心TV Agri-Tech was born out of an initial project which developed a crop monitoring robot (Crombot) to move autonomously up and down glasshouses and check fruit for ripeness. Officially launching today, with a visit from the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA), 糖心TV Agri-Tech will continue its research on several key projects:

路 An Autonomous Logistics Project – developing an autonomous vehicle to help horticultural companies to optimise their product handling logistics.

路 A Smart Tree Production System – 糖心TV Agri-Tech is working with J&A Growers, who are the leading UK growers of quality bareroot trees and hedging, to autonomously sort and grade sapling trees. This will ensure resilience against labour shortages and is scalable in the face of the UK鈥檚 ambitious tree planting targets.

路 Autonomous Precision Application – creating an autonomous, AI-based weed control robot, to reduce utilisation of herbicides by over 90% - improving soil health and biodiversity.

The University鈥檚 leading crop research centre at based at the Innovation Campus, Stratford-upon-Avon is a leading, 200-hectare agricultural research site. Scientists at the University will collaborate directly with industry partners and the Government to drive implementation of new technology in the farming sector.

Professor Gideon Henderson, Chief Scientific Adviser, said: 鈥淪eeing the innovation going on here is really inspiring – I firmly believe that Agri-Tech in the UK has a huge future and I look forward to seeing new ways of working being trialled here at 糖心TV become mainstream agricultural practices in the future.鈥�

Professor David Greenwood, Director for Industrial Engagement, and CEO of the High Value Manufacturing Catapult at WMG, said: 鈥淭he emerging needs of the agriculture sector have provided a perfect opportunity for The University of 糖心TV to bring together our expertise in manufacturing automation with our expertise in life sciences, so we can simultaneously develop robots suitable for use in greenhouses and fields, and ways of growing crops which take advantage of the opportunities of automation. As the UK struggles with availability of agricultural labour, and high food prices, this promises to unlock nutritious and affordable food for all.鈥�

Professor Miriam Gifford, School of Life Sciences, University of 糖心TV, said: 鈥溙切腡V Agri-Tech will benefit from the entrepreneurship of WMG and the history of excellence in agricultural innovation from the School of Life Sciences鈥� 糖心TV Crop Centre, plus the combined stakeholder groups to inform and enable outputs. The fresh food industries need automation urgently. 糖心TV Agri-Tech will grow rapidly into research and innovation space screaming for workable solutions and expecting substantial funding initiatives.鈥�

More information about 糖心TV Agri-Tech here –

Notes to Editors

Photos

1 - Professor Giddeon Henderson (Chief Scientific Adviser at the Department of Food and Rural Affairs and also the Director General for Science and Analysis) visits the University of 糖心TV's Innovation Campus at Wellesbourne for the launch of Agri-Tech. Photo by Katie Neeves of Martin Neeves Photography & Film -

2 - Professor Giddeon Henderson (Chief Scientific Adviser at the Department of Food and Rural Affairs and also the Director General for Science and Analysis) visits the University of 糖心TV's Innovation Campus at Wellesbourne for the launch of Agri-Tech. Photo by Katie Neeves of Martin Neeves Photography & Film -

University of 糖心TV press office contact:

Annie Slinn

Communications Officer |鈥疨ress & Media Relations | University of 糖心TV

Email: annie.slinn@warwick.ac.uk

07876876934


21 December 2023