Meet Professor Salah Sukkarieh robot

Professor Salah Sukkarieh is Professor of Robotics and Intelligence Systems at the Australian Centre for Field Robotics. As an engineer, he is using robotics and AI to change the landscape of farming.

1 What is agriculture technology or ‘agritech’?

It’s technology that helps farmers. It can be sensors to monitor soil health or plant growth, energy-efficient tractors, drones that assess if there are new plants or diseases, or smartphones that can be used to control irrigation systems.

2 How did you get involved in agritech?

I’ve always loved engineering and technology, and the environment. Meeting farmers, I started to understand the complexities of farming and their struggles.

3 Do agritech robots just live on land?

No! Drones are agritech robots and people are starting to look at underwater robots for aquaculture.

Aussie agritech robots

4 What are the next challenges for agritech robots?

It’s important to understand how appropriate the technology is for each type of crop. Using a robot on vegetables is very different to using a robot in tree crops, or around cattle.

5 Would agritech robots work in school gardens?

Yes - it means we will get the next generation of agritech farmers ready to work in very cool farms of the future - see Challenge 3!

6 Serious question – robots or dogs...who is a farmer’s best friend?

Dogs, but the robots help farmers to free up time so they can spend more time with their best friends!

“The robots are electric, or solar-electric and can move around the farm on their own (autonomously). They have sensors on board to help identify weeds, pests, crops and animals. And they have tools that can do things like planting, weeding and spraying.”

– Professor Sukkarieh

Digital Farmhand was designed to work for small-holder farmers in Australia and Overseas.

SwagBot was built for the cattle industry. It can herd cattle and navigate uneven landscapes.