Smart and sustainable is the theme of the Innovation Hub at the Royal Norfolk Show. As the cost of technology for sensing and monitoring falls, and powerful computing becomes more available, it is becoming feasible to situate low-cost detectors in the field, on machinery or on drones to collect information about crop performance, weather, soil, pests and post-harvest diseases. This information can then be used for remote management, directing autonomous vehicles or strategic planning and modelling.
BBRO – showing how soil can be visualised in three dimensions to help growers understand the way plants interacts with the soil. Also a novel infield aphid monitoring and testing system supported by web-based reporting that makes it possible to map virus transmission across the whole of the UK sugar beet growing region.
Delta-T – the benefits of current soil sensors and profiling systems that support canopy analysis. Communications between sensors and with farm systems is increasingly important and the latest dashboard offering will show how this is achieved.
DroneAG will be showing its range of drones and how AI can be used to extract insights from raw data.
enLight will be using a live feed from Honingham Thorpe Farms, to show how real-time data collected from sensors detecting: water levels, bird scarer, power monitoring and grain store monitoring , can be displayed to assist remote management.
Harper Adams University demonstrating how automated vehicles, hoeing machines and spray drones can further reduce chemical usage, compaction and human labour
Martin Lishman improving post-harvest storage with energy efficient crop cooling systems and ImpacTrack is a new, low-cost data logger that replicates the movement of fruit and vegetables during handling and transport.
NIAB – exploring the potential of cultivating densely grown crops in soil free conditions
Prodata – environmental monitoring solutions and in field crop monitoring
Roboscientific – early warning of disease using Volatile Organic Compounds given off by infected animals.
University of East Anglia is to showcase WeedingTech, a novel herbicide-free solution that uses a biodegradable foam from natural plant oils to suppress weeds
University of Essex increasing ‘crop per drop’ by looking at the relationship between plant phenotype (crop variety), water use and yield.
The Innovation Hub at the Royal Norfolk Show creates an opportunity for members of Agri-Tech East to showcase emerging technologies. We asked them to look ahead ten years to identify the drivers for change and the technologies needed to address them. See what they think here.
More information about the Innovation Hub at the Royal Norfolk Show