"Witchcraft to the ignorant...simple science to the learned." With that simple statement, sci-fi writer Leigh Brackett summed up much of today's technological environment. The more famous version of that sentiment came more than thirty years later in 1973 when Arthur C. Clarke's third law stated that any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.
Can you imagine taking some of our modern conveniences back only a few decades to show people? TVs with wireless remotes; remote controls to unlock cars; summons features on vehicles; mobile phones; voice activated light bulbs; GPS...the list goes on. Without an understanding of the technology behind them they all appear 'magical'.
It is with that backdrop that I want to look forward.
We've only had the Internet in Australia for thirty years, but we're on the cusp of having it on everything. With the progression of low power transmissions, advanced batteries and better connectivity, we can connect so many useful items to the Internet.
We are already seeing connected cars with the ability to remotely monitor location and speed. Imagine the increased efficiency in an organisation when all fleet vehicles are being monitored in real-time. Add in some artificial intelligence (AI) and the huge amount of data can be used to track the efficiency of drivers and delivery runs across a company. Already, some regional businesses that rely on delivery vehicles are using this to track the location of their fleet. This delivers a better client experience and is safer for drivers - while we still have drivers.
Read more:Case study of Agtech innovator Safe Ag Systems
Autonomous tractors with some sprinkling of AI are already making a difference to agriculture. Sitting on a tractor for hours is boring and falling asleep and running into a fence can be costly. With an open paddock, autonomous tractors are working farms in regional areas. When you factor in the ability to monitor soil and weeds below the tractor and change behaviour accordingly, you start to see some dramatic improvement in cropping efficiency.
This isn't limited to tractors. Water is a precious resource and fertiliser and chemicals are expensive. Pivot irrigators are now able to install IoT sensors at strategic locations around irrigated areas and the centre pivot used to irrigate an area can then automatically adjust water and additives to specifically what is required at each area. Yield increases of twenty per cent have been achieved with a reduction in costs.
One client I know couldn't wait until mobile reception was good enough at their property and installed their own farm-wide Wi-Fi system to ensure internal communications were at a good enough level to implement this technology.
This same technology is being developed for broadacre farming although the measuring is more often performed manually due to the larger area being covered. Give it time though. As Internet of Things (IoT) develops and communication links improve, permanently installed IoT devices will be as common as star pickets across a farm.
Cattle and sheep farmers aren't being left out. As farmers try to extract the most from precious few resources, measuring and monitoring is the new farming mantra. Critical measurements are being taken of stock and they are rotated through specific areas of farmland. Water troughs are monitored remotely to ensure a constant supply of water. The aim is to be able to remotely monitor individual animals.
We've only had the Internet in Australia for thirty years, but we're on the cusp of having it on everything. With the progression of low power transmissions, advanced batteries and better connectivity, we can connect so many useful items to the Internet.
In Australia we have land but not a lot of water. If we can be at the forefront of this farming technology revolution, we are well placed to maximise the efficiency of the land despite our lack of water.
The lower population of regional communities compared to metro areas: that is a social strength but it has been a technology weakness. When additional communication links are being built - either wireless or fixed - it is logical that a telco will build infrastructure where population density is greater. Logically you would think this would continue with the advent of 5G - but maybe we will be rescued by the sheep! With 75 million sheep in Australia (and 26 million cattle) if we have 5G monitoring devices attached to all of them, telcos may focus their attention on regional areas first.
Much of the world focuses IoT on smart home devices, freight deliveries and physical items but there is a strong argument that our food production should be at the forefront of our technological thinking. In the same way that the CSIRO has led the world in areas such as Wi-Fi and plastic bank notes, I would be happy with $150 million going to the organisation (rather than NASA) to develop world-leading technologies in IoT for the improvement of product yields.
For the supporters of the CSIRO, that decision would be indistinguishable from magic!
Mathew Dickerson is a Dubbo-based technologist and a former mayor of the city