Professor Tom Qi is looking into the future and preparing for it now.

The world is changing fast; in the future we can expect robots to do many of the jobs that people do currently - and do them better. Professor Tom Qi can see many applications for his research in electronic engineering.  His work is not about meeting the current needs of industry but anticipating what will be needed in future.

In one of his projects, Tom is developing a robot to monitor plant health and growing conditions in commercial greenhouses. "You used to have to put a physical sensor into the ground to check moisture levels but now you can use infrared cameras instead. It's too expensive to install a lot of cameras above all the plants, but a mobile robot with one camera can monitor all the plants, and send the data it gathers to your computer screen." 

A mobile robot could also monitor temperature, pH, and leaf colour, to identify the earliest signs of disease or pests for prompt treatment. And the functionality is not limited to monitoring; robots could also take appropriate action based on the information they gather.

Tom has already partnered with industry in China for the design and prototyping of such robots, but he is keen to secure funding and industry partnership for trials in New Zealand as well, because the horticulture industry is so important to New Zealand.