NTT Group (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation) has identified Australia’s challenging environmental and operational conditions as the ideal testbed to develop the next generation of green agricultural sensing and communication technologies.
NTT, the leading Japanese information and communications technology (ICT) company, has entered a three-year partnership with Food Agility CRC and the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) on the project 'Sustainable Sensing for Precision Agriculture and Urban Greening'.
Sensing and remote data collection technologies will be developed by UTS and NTT researchers and engineers at the newly established RF & Communication Technologies (RFCT) Laboratory at the university’s Broadway campus in Sydney, New South Wales. The technology developed as part of the project will be tested at Sydney Science Park.
This project will focus on developing sustainable sensing, enhanced connectivity, and data analytics for precision urban and rural agriculture as well as urban greening. The team is seeking to improve sustainability of sensors by addressing durability, cost, battery life, and connectivity factors which have hampered investment and uptake in the technology across Australian and global businesses in the past.
“The research collaboration between NTT, UTS and Food Agility is an exciting development. I have high hopes that the collaboration will boost innovation and open the door to a more sustainable, connected world,” said Shuichi Tokuda, Consul-General of Japan in Sydney.
UTS Vice Chancellor, Professor Andrew Parfitt, is confident this project will “showcase the best in collaborative endeavour, with a global team of technologists working out of our newly launched, world-class RFCT Laboratory.”
Akifumi Nagatani, General Manager of Australia Global Business at NTT Australia, highlighted the joint initiative’s potential to yield significant outcomes as the team “explore the intricate landscape of IoT's green and environmental contributions,” he said.
Food Agility CEO, Dr Mick Schaefer, said having the project based in Australia would build trust among farmers and producers seeking to utilise sensor technology.
“Developing the next generation of agricultural sensors with Australian conditions front of mind helps reassure farmers that this technology will suit their operational conditions, no matter how challenging they are,” explained Dr Schaefer.
Dr. Negin Shariati, Co-Director of the RFCT Laboratory at UTS, Sensing Innovations Constellation Lead at Food Agility CRC, and the project lead chief investigator, emphasized that the team's R&D are focuses on full-stack IoT design, spanning low-level electronics, antennas, microwave circuits, and high-level wireless communication, with the overarching goal of sustainability and transitioning to Net Zero.
“The technical challenges of this project are profound, but also exciting,” remarked Dr Shariati. “By enhancing the accuracy, durability, power efficiency, cost-effectiveness, ease of manufacturing, and connectivity of agricultural sensors, farmers worldwide will benefit from this technology.
“Our collaboration with NTT, a global leader in technology and telecommunications, and Food Agility CRC, a pioneer in agricultural research and innovation, enables the translation of our research into practical applications with significant commercial value,” added Dr Shariati.
Dr Rasool Kehsvarz, UTS Senior Research Fellow and one of the chief investigators of this R&D project added, “In this dynamic industry-academia collaboration, we're creating highly precise soil sensors with ultra-low power consumption, enabling wireless power transfer and energy harvesting, all while ensuring environmental resilience, scalability, and seamless, dependable communication via drone payload.”
For more information or to request an interview ,please contact Christopher Komorek, Marketing and Communications Manager at Food Agility on chris.komorek@foodagility.com
