AI helping farmer with data about bees and crops
BBCMapping where bees collect pollen, planting, weeding and understanding the soil are all at the forefront of artificial intelligence (AI) being used by a farmer in Cornwall.
Pollen gathered in sacs on bees' legs has been identified and traced to the field where the insects gathered it on Ian Sexton's farm in Callington.
The collected data was then analysed using AI at the University of Plymouth and could monitor bee populations, experts said.
Sexton is also using AI and a robot to help in his production of essential oils. He said he was excited at using the technology as it meant he was being helped with tasks he often had to carry out himself.
Cameras and sensors were placed around Sexton's bee which has been capturing the bees' activity, from fights with wasps to the waggle dance bees use to share with each other places they have collected pollen.
Chair of Cornwall Beekeepers Association Geoff Hardman said such a level of data-gathering was a game-changer.
He said: "Led by the University of Plymouth, Cornwall's pretty top of the league in this.
"The future of bees is definitely under debate because of the changes in climate, so anything we can do to keep on top of that and have better managed and healthier bees [is good]."
Sexton is also using a robot in his lavender fields which can plan, weed, spray and collect information about the soil, among other actions.
The farmer said: "There's such a need because there's just one of me here and there are so many jobs to do, and the changing weather patterns means there's less time to do it," he said.
'More informed decisions'
The AI technology has been developed under Jake Shaw-Sutton, a director of Robotrix and lecturer in applied robotics at the University of Plymouth.
He said AI was already built into large-scale industrial farm machinery but it had not yet been adopted by smaller farms.
He said he wanted to release data so it would be free for all to help make farming of smaller sites easier to handle.
He said: "AI has changed so many different industries but it hasn't in farming yet.
"Using AI gives that power to farmers to make better, more informed decisions."