UK Government Invests $28m In AI, IoT And High-Tech Farming Projects
The projects include Warwickshire-based Rootwave, which will use a $875,000 grant to use electricity instead of chemicals to kill weeds from the roots, avoiding damage to crops. Tuberscan, in Lincolnshire, will use $496,000 to develop ground penetrating radar, underground scans and artificial intelligence (AI) to monitor potato crops and identify when they are ready to harvest. The government hopes the technology will increase the usable crop by an estimated 5 to 10%, as well as reducing food waste with minimal additional costs.
A project in Middlesex will use a $295,000 grant in a bid to help cows graze without farmer supervision by placing Internet of Things (IoT) sensors on farm gates that communicate with GPS trackers on cows to open and close gates allowing cattle to graze freely.