Digital Agritechnology: Robotics and Systems for Agriculture and Livestock Production describes how systems acquire and use data in livestock production and agricultural systems, and how researchers can extract and aggregate efficiencies. The origins of digital agritechnology are decades old, with robotic milkers available for over 20 years and GPS-based tractor controls existing for nearly 30. However, only a few capabilities of these sensing and control systems are used. This book addresses the need to educate agriculturists on the full usage scale of these arable and livestock systems.
- Features how-to guides on extracting and analyzing data from digital systems
- Describes quality standards for data security and transmission
- Focuses on state-of-the-art systems in livestock production, along with arable and indoor agriculture
Dr Toby Mottram FREng, FIAgrE, PhD, MSc., BA(Hons), BSc. began his career as a working herdsman and then retrained as an engineer, moving into research and teaching before going into digital agritechnology start-ups. During his academic career he co- invented robotic milking, developed cow breath sampling, in-line milk analysis and the rumen telemetry bolus. He has been active in policy discussions in Defra coordinating greenhouse gas research 2010-2013 and farm animal welfare. After Silsoe Research closed he focused on commercialising products from research particularly the pH bolus (eCow), antimicrobial monitoring (VirtualVet) and most significantly automated milk progesterone measurement by lateral flow test (Milkalyser). The products combine sensor technology with web enabled data management systems. He completed a BBSRC/Royal Society of Edinburgh Enterprise Fellowship in 2016 to develop subsequently raised £1.6 m to develop and demonstrate the prototype LFA analyser. Milkalyser was acquired by Lely the market leader in robotic milking in 2020. eCow was acquired by Wolfhound Analytics in 2021. He is now looking for new challenges in agricultural engineering.