Industry Talk: Autonomous Viticultural Tractor: R & D Opportunities in the Vineyard
31 May 2019 2:10 PM - 3:00 PM
Presenter/Speaker: Andrew Kersley, Designer, Director, AXIA Design Group; Smart Machine Company
Location: G.1.15
The Smart Machine Company is developing an autonomous vehicle for use in the vineyard environment for undertaking tasks such as mowing, spraying, and trimming, that would currently be performed by a tractor and driver. The intention is that a number of these vehicles can now be monitored by a single operator who is responsible for day to day duties such as refuelling, loading mission plans, responding to any mid mission warnings such as obstacle detections or mechanical faults. The vehicle also provides a unique opportunity to start collecting specific and potentially large amounts of information about the vineyard all year round and store this information with GPS tags. This talk will introduce the current projects as well as provide information on interesting challenges and opportunities for R & D in the ICT space (in the vineyard).
BIO:
Andrew Kersley is a Designer and Director at AXIA Design Group. Andrew holds a Master of Technology, majoring in product development. He has industrial experience from NZ, UK and USA working with high end brands such as Apple. He brings a broad combination of Design and Project Management skills to the AXIA team and frequently works on-site.