From drones and biological sensors to robotics, if you’ve got an interest in technology or agriculture then this competition could be for you.
CSU students are being encouraged to take part in a competition to develop practical, low-cost digital tools to help wool producers improve animal health, welfare and productivity.
The 2017 Tech eChallenge Wool Innovation is a collaboration between CSU, Australian Wool Innovation and the Entrepreneurship Commercialisation and Innovation Centre (ECIC) at the University of Adelaide.
Working in teams, participants come up with an idea, develop and then pitch their product to panels of potential investors in June.
The winning CSU team will receive $5 000 and the runner up $2 500. Those two teams will then take part in the Inter Varsity final in Adelaide, competing for a share of $60 000 in prize money.
Some of the areas teams are working on include:
- Using drones to run the ‘restaurant’ – matching animals to feed with pin-point precision.
- Remote data collection and analytics to eliminate Vegetable Matter (VM) and improve wool quality.
- Using bio-sensors to monitor and maintain healthy sheep.
- Cost effective, practical alternatives to ear tags to improve data collection capacity for better management decision making.
Head of CSU’s School of Agricultural and Wine Sciences, Professor David Falepau said, “This is not just for aggies. Some of the most exciting and high tech solutions we’ve uncovered so far are coming from students and staff from maths and computing, creative arts and biomedicial science. Teamed up with our agricultural and animal science enthusiasts, the creativity is amazing.
“Industry leaders including wool producers themselves, are participating in the Tech eChallenge Wool Innovation. For our students it’s a huge opportunity to develop their networking and team building skills and to put the knowledge they’ve learned in their studies at Charles Sturt University into practice. They might even end up in a team with their next employer.”
People interested in taking part by joining an existing team or starting their own can find out more in a technical workshop on Thursday 20 April and need to register for the challenge by Monday 24 April.
Read more about the program here.
For further information including details of workshops to help you develop your ideas, contact Associate Head of the School of Agriculture and Wine Sciences Ms Katrina Durham.
