Description:

Foresight is a technology-integrated, static fruit measuring device that seeks to respond to the problem of repetitive, manually intensive, and often inaccurate collection of fruit data during the growing season.

Foresight seeks to understand growth patterns, enabling users to directly compare with previous seasons to understand their orchard performance better. Additionally, Foresight can be used to validate and augment other forms of data capture, such as satellite imagery used in predictive modelling for horticultural production.

Foresight is attached to a tree trunk through a flexible and adaptable mounting system responsive to the demands of orchard design and tree shape. Image capture and subsequent data management within the product system enables reliable data comparison of subsequent yield in different areas. Operating below the hail netting level, Foresight data collection can also be used as a ground-truthing strategy for larger-scale data capture.

Foresight addresses a disconnection within the systems of crop production. It considers the social aspects of trust between orchard managers and packhouses, and the need to have better data to support the understanding of the state of an orchard in real-time.

Foresight is a novel solution to the task of fruit measurement, relying on trusted technologies combined simply and cost-effectively, and then placed onto the tree, capturing real-time, static data that allows for comparison of growth across the season in both visual and numerical modes. The ability to compare to previous seasons also bridges the gap between staff’s historical knowledge of the orchard, enabling new farmers to build on this understanding, rather than needing to start from scratch.