Procept chosen to protect Victorian farms
20 October 2010
WORLD-FIRST TECHNOLOGY TO HELP VICTORIAN FARMERS
From the Minister for Innovation
Farmers will be able to monitor and combat plague pests such as locusts with world-first wireless technology being developed by a Victorian company with the help of $1.5 million in funding from the Brumby Labor Government.
Innovation Minister Gavin Jennings said the automated biophony sensor technology – which would be able to detect and differentiate between the sounds of insects, birds and other organisms – would also be used to rapidly assess a farm’s biodiversity.
“Pests such as locusts can cause widespread and severe damage to pastures and crops which in turn impacts on our economy and the livelihoods of farmers,” Mr Jennings said.
“With Victoria facing our worst locust plague in 75 years, the Brumby Labor Government has invested $43.5 million to minimise as best we can the damage this plague will cause.
“This $1.5 million in funding builds on that commitment and will assist local technology company Procept in developing and testing its innovative wireless sensor network.
“As well as detecting pests, this technology will provide a less invasive way of diagnosing the health and biodiversity of Victoria’s farms and orchards, and potentially contribute significantly to the quality of environmental data available for use by farmers, local councils and government agencies to care for the land.
“In addition, this sustainable technology could reduce the need for chemicals in pest control and has the potential to attract a worldwide market.”
Mr Jennings said the technology would use sensor stations, connected via a wireless network, to record audio as well as temperature, humidity and other environmental data, which is then transmitted to a central computer and analysed.
Agriculture Minister Joe Helper said the sensor system could provide an exciting opportunity to investigate ecosystems in Victoria’s orchards.
“Long-term productivity and sustainability in agriculture depend on healthy and functional ecosystems. This technology has the potential to promote resilient biodiversity which is important in helping farms survive climate change,” said Mr Helper.
Procept will work with the Department of Primary Industries to develop the automated biophony sensor stations to ensure they complement current methods of promoting environmental sustainability in Victoria.
The project is funded under the Brumby Labor Government’s $28 million Smart SMEs Market Validation Program, a government research and development program for small to medium sized businesses.
For more information please see the business Victoria website.
About Procept
Procept works with leading companies, helping them to design, engineer, and bring to market innovative products and services. With a multidisciplinary team of strategists, project managers, system architects, hardware engineers and software engineers, Procept’s innovative solutions span multiple technologies and platforms.
Procept works across a broad spectrum of industries, including agriculture, healthcare, mining, defence, clean energy, industrial control and automation, and consumer electronics. Founded in 2006, Procept is headquartered in Melbourne, Australia with offices in Barcelona and facilities in Bendigo, Victoria.
Visit www.procept.com.au or www.procept.es
For more information please contact:
Procept APAC
Sean Worth, Venture Manager
Tel: +61 3 9224 6636
Email: sean.worth@procept.com.au
Procept Europe
Adrian Crouch, Director
Tel: +34 93 218 6964
Email: adrian.crouch@procept.com.au