Mathematical modelling

Maaratech Fieldtrip to Blenheim 2022

The Maaratech Team, both the University of Canterbury and University of Auckland teams, met in Blenheim last week for field work. The fieldtrip is still running this week, and it is hoped that a lot of data and insights will be gained from this trip.

The Maaratech project aims to reduce the variability of human worker performance in orchards and vineyards, using augmented reality technology to help inexpert workers make expert decisions, and reduce the risk associated with a transient workforce, using robotic automation. We will create new technologies that capture and convert data about plant structure, and the activities of expert humans, into smart decisions and actions in fruit growing e.g which grape vine to prune and how much to remove.

Industry Event for the Drones with Tools project 14…

Last week on 14 June, an Industry event was held for Professor Richard Green’s $10mil drones with tools project which is funded by MBIE. The project has a key research team from CSSE and Mechanical Engineering, University of Canterbury, let by Prof. Dan Zhou, as well as a team led by Assoc. Prof Karl Stol from the University of Auckland. Industry partners were invited to see progress on this interesting project which started last October.

The event was located at the UC Club where research presentations were given by the key researchers as well as lab tours of the Mechanical Engineering wind tunnels and the Drone lab located in Computer Science and Software Engineering department. We were lucky to have warm sunny winter weather and there were many interesting discussions had about the research.

This project will span five years and aims to enable drones to use tools with high precision in mid-air in difficult changeable settings. The goal is to create technology that can be used in forestry, testing power lines or in the construction industry

Richard Green, Dan Zhao, Sam Schofield and Karl Stol (UoA) speaking about their research at Ilam Homestead

Wind tunnel demonstration in Mechanical Engineering

Testing Mathematical Modelling

Today Sam Schofield and two researchers from Victoria University, Professor Peter Smith and Ikram Singh were collecting data to test the use of stochastic differential equations to model the motion of a drone during flight.

The drone was configured to fly autonomously along a specified flight path, while a motion capture system was used to measure its precise position and orientation.

This testing is part of the Drones Project funded by MBIE.