James Hutton Ltd rewarded for agri-tech innovation with Tay5G Challenge Fund 2 award
Tay5G, a Tay Cities Region Deal project in collaboration with the Scotland 5G Centre and university and industry partners, has announced James Hutton Ltd as a winner of its Challenge Fund.
This competitive funding initiative aims to accelerate the development of innovative projects utilising the power of 5G technology to transform various sectors. It has been supported with around £600,000 of Scottish Government funding as part of its £2million investment in Tay5G.
The other winners of the challenge are AIX Live Ltd, JET Connectivity and University of Dundee. The fund attracted extensive interest and the winners, chosen from a wide range of great ideas, represent a diverse range of innovation.
James Hutton Ltd is the commercial arm of the James Hutton Institute, a world-leading agriculture and agritech research organisation. Agriculture is currently facing challenges such as labour shortages, fluctuating prices, and the need for climate adaptation, all while maintaining business viability. Robotics, like tractors in the past, has the potential to improve efficiency by reducing labour and inputs while minimizing negative environmental impacts through a data-driven approach. Although autonomous agricultural robots are already available, they require further testing to build farmer confidence.
Building on a successful Tay5G Agritech demonstration, James Hutton Ltd project aims to integrate robotic platforms with 5G capabilities at Mylnefield Farm. Supported by Soil Essentials and The National Robotarium, the project will use 5G’s ultra-reliable, low-latency communications to control autonomous vehicles and gather real-time data, with the goal of establishing a ‘robotics test bed’ for agricultural innovation.
Agri-Tech specialist Andrew Christie from The James Hutton Institute added: “Having had success with our Tay5G challenge fund agritech use case last year, we aim in this second project to progress and expand our output by creating a test bed for robotics, making use of the high speed and low latency data connection that our state of the art 5G private network provides, hosted on site with The Scotland 5G Centre. Robots themselves form part of the future for agriculture, as an evolution of current technology for precision farming.
“The project will focus on operating a range of agricultural robotic platforms within the 5G network, with the aim of demonstrating reduced labour requirement, improved productivity, real time remote monitoring and high resolution data capture on farm, all within a secure interconnected network.”
Andrew Christie, The James Hutton Institute
“The project will focus on operating a range of agricultural robotic platforms within the 5G network, partnering with Soil Essentials and the National Robotarium to develop solutions which improve the capabilities of robotic platforms with the aim of demonstrating reduced labour requirement, improved productivity, real time remote monitoring and high resolution data capture on farm, all within a secure interconnected network.”
Tay5G and the Scotland 5G Centre continue to encourage and support the development of innovative 5G projects, fostering Scotland’s position as a leader in technological advancements. By embracing the opportunities presented by 5G, Scotland is set to unlock new possibilities and create a brighter future for its industries and citizens.
For more information about the Tay5G Challenge Fund 2 and the winners of this funding cycle, visit www.tay5g.com.
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