Lincoln Agri-Robotics (LAR)
University of Lincoln
Lincoln Agri-Robotics (LAR) is ‘the world’s first global centre of excellence in agricultural robotics’ (UK Innovation Strategy, July 2021), funded by UKRI’s Research England as part of their Expanding Excellence in England (E3) fund. This exciting centre bridges and expands the strong collaborations that exist between two leading research groups at the University of Lincoln: the Lincoln Institute for Agri-Food Technology (LIAT) and the Lincoln Centre for Autonomous Systems (L-CAS).
A semi-automated field-based robotic phenotyping platform:
- Multispectral 3D laser scanners (Phenospex)
- Multispectral and hyperspectral imaging
- RGB and thermal camera
- In-situ root imager (CI-600)
- Field and glasshouse facilities
- Phenomics MakerSpace
What we do
Our focus is to develop and deploy phenotyping robotics to support plant phenotyping at a hitherto unachieved scale to drive plant breeding activities. Our facility combines several spectral biology sensors (multispectral, hyperspectral and thermal cameras) and 3D laser scanners and further develops AI-powered data analytical tools for the identification and phenotypic characterisation of complex traits in food and forage crops.
Projects
- Selective Harvesting – High speed picking, soft fruit robots
- Crop Care – deployment of novel sensing systems, data collection, and real time data analysis to help understand the micro-environment of individual plants within a crop.
