Keynote Speaker

Salah Sukkarieh is the Professor of Robotics and Intelligent Systems at the University of Sydney, and is the CEO of Agerris, a new Agtech startup company from the ACFR developing autonomous robotic solutions to improve agricultural productivity and environmental sustainability. He was the Director Research and Innovation at the Australian Centre for Field Robotics from 2007-2018, where he led the strategic research and industry engagement program in the world's largest field robotics institute. He is an international expert in the research, development and commercialisation of field robotic systems and has led a number of robotics and intelligent systems R&D projects in logistics, commercial aviation, aerospace, education, environment monitoring, agriculture and mining. Salah was awarded the NSW Science and Engineering Award for Excellence in Engineering and Information and Communications Technologies in 2014, the 2017 CSIRO Eureka Prize for Leadership in Innovation and Science, and the 2019 NSW Australian of the Year nominee. Salah is a Fellow of Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (ATSE), and has over 500 academic and industry publications in robotics and intelligent systems.

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Talk title: Ground robotics in horticulture for small farms

Abstract
In this talk I will present a decade long R&D activity at developing small ground robots for the horticulture industry to help small holder farmers. Our fundamental premise is that the necessary technology is now affordable and ubiquitous to allow for ground robotic solutions that will help with per plant decision making and action in order to improve yield, as well as dealing with other labour tasks such as weeding and pest detection. Key issues however remain as to how to present the technology to small holder farmers and the appropriate commercial and social arrangement to support sustainability. The talk will look at trials conducted in Australia, Fiji, Samoa and Indonesia.

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