Agricultural
9 August, 2023
Researcher cracks winning algorithm
Poultry farming in Australia could be set for a major advancement thanks to the revolutionary research by a University of Southern Queensland (UniSQ) Senior Research Fellow.
Dr Cheryl McCarthy, a mechatronic engineer at the UniSQ’s Centre for Agricultural Engineering, has been named the
2023 AgriFutures Australia Researcher of the Year for her work on automated chicken monitoring.
Dr McCarthy’s research project, funded by AgriFutures Australia, has successfully been able to track the weight and movement of a flock of chickens using only a camera and image analysis; thus, reducing the need for farmers to manually handle their flock.
This automated system would not only reduce the stress placed on the animal; it would also save time and provide more frequent, accurate data for the farmer.
The next step for this feat of mechatronic engineering would be commercialisation – essentially, turning this research into a technology farmers could buy off the shelf and install in their own sheds.
It’s a goal Dr McCarthy said she was already working towards.
“I am working with the chicken meat industry through AgriFutures and a commercial partner to conduct extended field trials,” Dr McCarthy said.
“We’re also considering what the user experience of such a product could look like."
Dr McCarthy said it was entirely possible they could have this technology locked in and ready to revolutionise poultry farming within the next two years.
