A fresh initiative, the AgRobotics Ontario Challenge, has been unveiled to engage high school students in contemplating innovative ways to employ robots in agriculture. Launched recently, the competition aims to enhance farm worker safety, efficiency, and competitiveness through robotics.
Participating schools will receive a robotics kit from Studica to actualize their concepts. Six chosen schools will craft prototypes of their ideas, to be showcased at the London Farm Show in March 20226. Additionally, each selected school will receive $500 to aid in their design development.
Haggerty Robotics, led by Chuck Baresich, a company that specializes in developing robotic solutions for farm use, is actively involved in the contest. Haggerty has created a solar-powered vehicle capable of autonomously seeding and weeding fields without human intervention.
Baresich, expressing the significance of merging technology with agriculture, highlighted the vast investments being made globally to enhance agricultural productivity. He emphasized the urgency for technological solutions in crop harvesting and pest management.
The competition encourages students to propose practical farm applications for their ideas. Baresich is optimistic that the competition will inspire novel approaches to agricultural challenges.
Bridget Mahon, the agribusiness manager at Western Fair Association, noted that the contest offers students an opportunity to apply their skills to address farm-related issues. Submissions for the contest close in late November, with the six winning schools to be announced in early December.
For further details about the competition and submission guidelines, visit the contest portal [here](https://www.innovationfarmson.ca/student-competition).