University farms part of major Government research to drive 5G adoption

Sensors installed

Wireless sensors which aim to revolutionise agricultural practices are in place at Newcastle University’s Farms as part of a government programme to drive 5G adoption.

Using advanced technology, they are collecting real-time data from a network of crop, soil, livestock and environmental sensors to empower farmers to make informed decisions in a bid to increase automation, boost efficiency and enhance environmental sustainability.

The project is one of four in the North East funded as part of the Department for Science Innovation and Technology (DSIT) ‘5G Innovation Regions (5GIR)’ initiative. The funding includes a £1.28million investment in NU Farms.

The project was co-developed by NU Farms and the National Innovation Centre for Rural Enterprise (NICRE) and is in partnership with the North East Combined Authority, Enable, North, Digital Catapult and UK Agri-tech Centre.

Supporting transitions

The soil and environment sensors have recently been installed at Cockle Park Farm while methane sensors are already in operation at Nafferton Farm, with the project involving staff from across the University’s School of Natural and Environmental Sciences.

The sensors are enabled onto LoRaWAN, a long-range wide area wireless network allowing ultra-low power usage for data transfer.

NICRE will also be supporting the project through dissemination of use cases via its national Innovation Portal.

To find out more about the project visit the NU Farms website or contact Sophia Long at s.long6@newcastle.ac.uk

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