Scottish AI projects awarded £1.2m to develop farming technology

Scottish artificial intelligence projects are to benefit from more than £1.2m in funding to help develop farming technology.

A project using AI-enhanced robotics to automate the manual agricultural tasks of specific trimming and replanting has been awarded over £1.1m.

It is being delivered by academics at the University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen-based business Leap Automation Limited and Kent-based business partner M&W Mack Limited.

Meanwhile Dyneval Limited, at the University of Edinburgh’s Roslin Innovation Centre, is to receive £99,868 for a project which will automate the detection of defects in animal sperm to help vets with fertility testing and improve livestock production rates.

Almost 100 ground-breaking projects across the UK have been awarded financial backing of £32m to improve efficiency such as reducing train delays, speeding up NHS prescriptions and training construction workers.

A total of 98 projects from Aberdeen to Southampton will receive funding, involving more than 200 businesses and research organisations spanning a range of sectors including public services, driving efficiencies and reducing administrative tasks.

Companies developing artificial intelligence (AI) to improve safety on construction sites, reduce time spent repairing the railways and cut emissions across supply chains are amongst a number of projects set to receive a share of £32m in UK Government funding.

UK Government Minister for Scotland Kirsty McNeill said: “The exciting thing about well-managed AI is that it can enhance and support all sectors. The two projects to receive funding in Scotland from today’s announcement will make a massive difference in agriculture – one from improving the production of livestock, while the other has the potential to improve the quality and yield of our crops.

“Harnessing and investing in technology in this way is essential for growth and for keeping Scotland and the UK at the front of the global stage in the advancement of AI.”

Minister for Digital Government and AI Feryal Clark said: “AI will deliver real change for working people across the UK – not only growing our economy but improving our public services.

“That’s why our support for initiatives like this will be so crucial – backing a range of projects which could reduce train delays, give us new ways of maintaining our vital infrastructure, and improve experiences for patients by making it easier to get their prescriptions to them.

“We want technology to boost growth and deliver change right across the board, and I’m confident projects like these will help us realise that ambition.”