Challenge
Freshly shorn fleece undergoes manual ‘wool handling’, which includes quality inspection, trimming and baling. Recruiting skilled and unskilled workers to perform these tasks has become increasingly difficult and expensive.
Solution
The UTS Tech Lab team proposes streamlining the supply chain by automating the wool handling process. Data from skilled wool quality assessors will be used to train an automated image-based wool grade classifier.
Robots will detect and trim the dirty parts of the wool and bale (i.e. package into large bags) it for transport. A stretch goal is to incorporate sensors that will text a driver for pickup when the baling is complete.
Duration
2 years
Academic team
Dr Alen Alempijevic
Dr Mickey Clemon
Dr Nick Bennett
Professor Rob Fitch
Lab
Robotics
Engagement model
R&D as a service
Funding
AWI Research & Development fund
Future applications
Automated in-shed assessment of fleece quality
Automated fleece sorting
Area of expertise
Data science
Industry 4.0
Robotics and automation
Wireless communications & Internet of Things
