Meeting summary

Quick recap

The Haggerty team shared updates on their summer projects, including various agricultural engineering initiatives and developments in robotic systems for farming applications. Team members presented their work on scouting projects, weed control technologies, and autonomous vehicle systems, highlighting successful demonstrations and ongoing research efforts. The conversation ended with discussions about upcoming events, networking opportunities, and job announcements, including information about an upcoming Academic Industry Meeting Day and various agricultural showcases.

Next steps

• Konrad to submit attendee numbers for the Twilight Meeting by noon today.

• Konrad to share details about the September 4th Twilight Meeting/strawberry UVC application showcase in the chat.

• Cesar to share his email address in the chat for those interested in connecting about tree nursery weeding technology.

• ARWG to add the GC Expo at Area XO to the next meeting agenda.

• ARWG to add the Conestoga Biotechnology Research and Innovation Hub launch event to the next meeting agenda.

• ARWG to post the AgCys 2025 program funding opportunity link in the chat.

• Chuck to call Konrad today regarding the Twilight Meeting.

• Interested parties to check the Outdoor Farm Show website for registration to the AgTech breakfast on September 10th.

Summary

Haggerty Summer Projects Update

The Haggerty team presented their summer projects and activities. Kate Berasic, Digital Media Specialist, discussed her work on social media, promotional materials, website updates, and a robot catalog. Thomas McClay, Project Manager, shared his background and involvement in the scouting project. The team highlighted their efforts in creating educational videos and conducting fieldwork to improve robot performance.

Agricultural Engineering Projects Overview

Haggerty described several agricultural engineering projects, including designing a 25-foot wide boom with six cameras for scouting, mounting a Wizard Planzer onto the Oz for planting squash, and developing a sprayer attachment for pre-emerge applications. He also explained how he widened a robotic vehicle by 4 inches to accommodate a planter, requiring extensive finite element analysis to ensure structural integrity. Throughout the projects, Haggerty emphasized the importance of collaboration and learning from farmers' feedback to improve the designs.

Autonomous Vineyard Mapping Internship

Haggerty discussed his work on stress testing for a heavy load design and introduced his colleague, Michael Hassan, who presented his summer internship experience at Hagerty. Hassan focused on mapping vineyards with an autonomous robot, using RTK beacon data and proprietary software to create navigational paths. He also described reconfiguring an RTK beacon due to network coverage issues and collaborating with Vivid Machines for data collection and yield forecasting. Additionally, Hassan worked on a research project to interface an automated in-row mower with a hydraulic toolbar, using an Arduino microcontroller for motor logic and a 52-volt battery with a safety circuit breaker.

Embedded Systems and Weed Control

Haggerty shared his experience working on embedded development projects, including automating sensor data acquisition and implementing a multi-threaded architecture for efficient data processing. Ryden, a robotic systems engineer intern, discussed his work on the Pixel Farming Laser Weeder, which uses high-powered lasers to kill weeds without herbicides, and his involvement with the NIO Oz, where he worked on design, testing, maintenance, and customer support. Both Haggerty and Ryden also described their contributions to a scouting project aimed at improving weed monitoring and management in the field.

Laser Weed Detection System

Haggerty presented on their work using a laser system to identify and kill weeds, explaining how they mapped weed concentrations and visually inspected them to refine their model. The team discussed the accuracy of weed identification at different growth stages, with Haggerty noting that the system works well for smaller weeds but struggles with grass. Chuck Baresich emphasized the challenge of balancing precision with the need to process large areas quickly in agricultural settings.

Robotic Sweeper Demonstrations Success

Chuck reported successful demonstrations of the Bear Claw Robotic Sweeper and TED robot at the Great Tailgate Tour event, where OMAFRA representatives were present. The event was well-attended, and Chuck noted that Hasan's team made significant improvements by allowing the TED robot to operate autonomously over a larger area during the presentation, demonstrating its advanced capabilities. The group discussed contacting Hagerty about future internships, with Haggerty recommending using the contact email address on their website.

Strawberry Farm Tech Showcase Event

Konrad announced a showcase event at a strawberry farm on Thursday at 4 PM, where they will demonstrate a nighttime UVC application for berry growers and the AgRotRax robotics platform. Konrad requested attendees to submit numbers by noon today to help with planning. Alyssa promoted an upcoming Academic Industry Meeting Day (AIM Day) hosted by the University of Waterloo's Office of Research, focusing on automation, AI, and digitization for sustainable agriculture in northern climates. Cesar shared insights from his visit to tree nursery farms, highlighting their interest in weed control technologies, particularly laser weeding, and expressed the need for potential connections and guidance in this area.

Upcoming Events and Opportunities

The meeting covered several updates and opportunities. Cesar encouraged attendees to connect with him for organizing events, and ARWG mentioned a job opportunity with Rainbow Greenhouses. Kyle inquired about outputs from AIM days and reminded everyone about the GC Expo on September 24th, hosted by Area XO. Bridget and Joe discussed the Outdoor Farm Show and the upcoming AgTech breakfast. Joe also shared information about a networking golf event and mentioned John Deere's acquisition of Gus Automation. The group discussed various upcoming events, including a biotechnology research hub launch and a Twilight Meeting. The conversation ended with ARWG thanking everyone for their updates and reminding them of the long weekend ahead.