Farming Forward

From ground to gate to virtual plate – Corematic adds Industry 4.0 to the food manufacturers manual.

From picking to shipping and all the processes in between, the aspect of farming has changed significantly since the introduction of technology. Ask any farmer and they will happily show you the tools their forefathers used to laboriously hoe, rake and harvest produce to take down to the market for sale. As back-breaking as the task is, the reality is that without farmers we don’t eat, so making their lives as easy as possible is only beneficial for us all. With increase in regulations, produce quantity, quality and shipping requirements the amount of paperwork involved has increased also, the move to digital has begun.

Industry 4.0 has really enhanced the level of farming we see today with automation and reduction of manual labor. With higher yields, better quality of produce and maximum efficiency – farming is on its way to be the best it has ever been.

Industry 4.0 or the fourth industrial revolution is about integrating the physical world with the digital one to optimise operational functions. Solving modern business problems with modern solutions. It encompasses a forward way of thinking to limit challenges of machine-human or even machine-machine interactions within an organisation through leading edge technology including automation, robotics, vision systems, Internet of Things (IoT) and machine learning.

 

Integrating Solutions

Corematic Engineering is leading the way in providing unbiased, solution-oriented advice to those in agricultural, smelting, pharmaceutical and construction industries. Corematic’s agnostic team of engineers are specifically trained in Industry 4.0 to tailor integrated solutions to a specific working environment. In their first year, they worked with many farms to optimise processes and integrate technology for farmers – this included automating procedures, reducing paperwork and providing quality assurance checks and tracking accountability.

In one case, Corematic were engaged to optimise 4 main categories of their farming process including picking, storing, packing and dispatch. With the Industry 4.0 movement and the IoT gaining momentum, tasks traditionally completed using manual data collection and entry via pen-and-paper methods are fast becoming obsolete. By integrating different hardware including a variety of scanners, sensors and scales and creating a universal platform to log and control it all, Corematic were able to provide an automated system to reduce paperwork, accurately track produce through different processes and alert workers when produce may be affected by its environment and/or tampering.

 

Where to from here?

As year two begins for Corematic, they are hoping to expand where their skills and resources may be applied across a wide variety of industries. For example, within the agricultural industry they can integrate solutions based around the following:

• Autonomous Robots/Machinery
• IoT
• The Cloud
• Vision Systems
• Asset Tracking
• Proximity Warning Systems

… and many more – this team is only limited by their imagination!

Corematic’s case studies can be found here. Browse through to learn more about how they work to bring your business into a new, smarter and needed revolution.