I'm a Mining Engineer in regional NSW (Australia). I'm interested in showing that skilled professions and technology have applications outside of major cities. I grew up on a farm, so am interested in Ag technologies, and would like to contribute to open source solutions so that the more modest farms/farmers out there can benefit and DIY their own systems.
I have implemented Autosteer on my tractor with the excellent AgOpenGPS project, and have the Open Weed Locator project on my current list and would like to integrate with AOG in the future. My land and equipment is modest, but I have the resources to test and prototype.
Other ideas I have:
- Open source RFID reader for animal tags (my focus would be for sheep husbandry)
- Open Source system for pairing lambs with their mothers. What I have in mind is BLE beacons attched to lambs, and a ESP32 or similar collar on the ewes recording which lambs are spending the night closest to the ewes. Probably a bit of a data analysis problem as well.
- Open source Animal Weight monitoring - might be scales in the yard, walk over weighing, or image analysis.
I'm not particularly competent with software, but can find my way around an Arduino, and can figure stuff out well enough. I quite enjoy the hardward side, although I'm an amatuer when it comes to electronic design.
I'm also interested in astronomy, particularly asteroidal occultations, but have been finding it really difficult to find the time.