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Bitwise Field Day

Fruit Growers Tasmania | Monday, 28 March 2022, 11.00am

Bitwise Field day

Growers and industry representatives gathered recently at Hillwood Berries to view the latest Artificial Intelligence technology from Bitwise.

Fiona Kerslake from Bitwise outlined how the data is collected in the field using a GoPro camera, either handheld or mounted on a tractor or ATV. The images are captured in a side-on "street view" and plotted on a map so you can easily navigate through a virtual field.

Fiona also explained strawberries are the easiest berry to film as they are more compact, and the fruit is well displayed. For raspberries, the images are easy to capture early in the season but more difficult later in the year as the fruit becomes hidden by leaves, particularly when the canes grow longer and become bushier. In contrast, blueberries are relatively easy to film as they mainly grow toward the outer part of the bush.

Both Fiona Kerslake and Fiona Turner then gave a presentation on the GreenView software program and how it interprets the images from the field, which are uploaded to the program and analysed to identify detail such as berry numbers, maturity, and growth stages of the fruit. The program then generates various tailored reports enabling the grower to manage harvest better.

Bitwise is also developing a Growing Degree Day model to assist with determining timing from flower to harvest.

The presentation also outlined a pricing structure based on an annual subscription.

Growers interested in more information can contact Bitwise at: https://www.bitwiseag.com/

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