Australian AI irrigation system saves resources and optimises crop management
An innovative Australian irrigation system powered by artificial intelligence (AI) is helping sugarcane farmers optimize water usage and reduce fertilizer runoff, protecting the Great Barrier Reef.
The system is capable of predicting in advance when and where to water the fields, ensuring optimal water usage and reducing wastage. Additionally, it addresses fertilizer runoff, preventing it from contaminating the Great Barrier Reef.
Victoria’s La Trobe University for Aglantis, an ag-tech company based in far-north Queensland, developed the smart irrigation system. The system integrates the Internet of Things (IoT) to automate the management of water pumps and continuously monitor environmental factors such as sunlight, temperature, and humidity, all without requiring human interaction.
Affordable smart irrigation
Originally, the system’s goal was to improve land management and prevent fertilizer runoff. However, advancements in technology have made smart irrigation more affordable, increasing its potential applications. Luke Malan, managing director of Aglantis, states that the potential of the product is almost limitless.
Beyond its current capabilities in water conservation, future iterations of the system could include additional AI functionalities. These could teach the system to optimise energy consumption by responding to solar energy availability or adjusting to energy tariffs. The system could also analyse soil profiles to make informed decisions about crop selection, yield predictions, and overall farm management.
Taking the guesswork out of farming
Malan emphasizes the importance of the technology in addressing the increasing pressures on farm profitability. “It essentially takes the guesswork out of farming. With growing pressures on profitability, it is more imperative than ever to know what you are doing and how you can do it better. This flips conventional thinking on its head and opens the doorway to new possibilities.”
Professor Wei Xiang, Cisco Research Chair and Director of La Trobe University’s Cisco Centre for AI and the Internet of Things, emphasizes the smart irrigation system is the centre’s first commercial product and showed how industry could drive research to tangible and groundbreaking results.
AI-first approach
The University recently announced a bold ambition to transform research, education, student support and business operations by applying an AI-first approach. “Now we have proven the technology, the next step is to add additional features to improve productivity and crop yields through leveraging cutting-edge AI technology,” Professor Xiang says. “This will make farming on the whole more sustainable.”
The University has recently unveiled an ambitious plan to adopt an AI-first approach across all its research, education, student support, and business operations. Professor Xiang believes that, having proven the technology’s viability, the next step is to enhance it further. “The next step is to add additional features that can improve productivity and crop yields, leveraging AI technology to make farming more sustainable.”
Reducing labor costs and increasing water efficiency
The smart irrigation system was developed in a 1-meter plastic tub housed in La Trobe’s Digital Innovation Hub in Melbourne. IoT researchers Kamyar Karimi and Aravindan Madasamy, who were responsible for the system’s development, note that the technology reduces labour costs, increases water efficiency, and allows for more precise decision-making when managing farms.
Looking to the future, the system’s design could incorporate intelligent sequencing to optimise irrigation schedules across different farm sections. It could also incorporate predictive maintenance capabilities and learn from historical data, seasonal weather patterns, and crop responses, ensuring continuous improvement and adaptation. “This technology represents a major shift towards data-driven, sustainable agriculture where AI and IoT optimise every drop of water for maximum farming efficiency”, Karimi points out.
For Madasamy, the development of the smart irrigation system marks a transformative step forward for farmers. “By automating labor-intensive processes and putting control in the hands of advanced technology, farmers can save time, conserve resources, and focus on other priorities without the stress of manual management.”
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