LiveCorp wants faster solutions to industry challenges. Tweaks to existing agtech might be the answer

Here, grow^AG. contributor Casey Dunn sat down with Research, Development and Extension Manager Nick Baker to hear how the Australian livestock export industry’s rural research and development corporation (RDC) is searching beyond the high seas for solutions.

Casey: The Open Innovation Pipeline sees LiveCorp running short tech trial ‘sprints.’ Can you tell us how it works?

Nick: The Open Innovation Pipeline is the umbrella project, and within it are specific challenges identified by industry. For each one, we go out to market seeking mature or semi-mature solutions, then do a short (up to three month) proof-of-concept trial to see if they’re viable for our industry.

The idea is that we learn very quickly whether a solution is worth pursuing or not.

But you can’t use this approach for every problem?

Not every industry challenge requires just a technology solution. Some require us to reach out to universities and other research partners to investigate the fundamentals of that problem.

Development – the finding or facilitating of innovation – is a key part of our remit as an RDC, and the Open Innovation Pipeline is a key part of that approach. But there’s still a place for primary research to better understand how to solve some industry challenges, such as our latest animal welfare project, which aims to provide a better way to interpret the welfare data being collected on livestock export ships.

How do you determine the industry priorities?

We consult widely with exporters directly, as well as other industry representatives across the supply chain. Producers are important stakeholders, as LiveCorp co-invests in the Livestock Export RD&E Program with their RDC, Meat & Livestock Australia.

We also have a strategic committee, LERDAC [Livestock Export Research and Development Advisory Committee] which helps us to shape the challenges and look at both the practical considerations and the viability of a solution.

This pipeline is always open. As industry identifies a suitable challenge, we’ll perform the technology scout across other sectors and run a tender process to identify promising solutions.

Where do you start looking when you’re scouting technologies that might be hiding in any sector and in any market across the world?

We scan other industries and markets for what they’re doing. But grow^AG. definitely helped to amplify our search.

With the latest round, an Innovation Challenge seeking solutions for each problem was shared via growAG. and many interesting ideas came in. A story was also written and shared to the agrifood innovation network which explained who we are, our approach and the challenges we were looking at, and we know that generated interest too.

One of your first proof-of-concept trials looked at improving on-board gas monitoring.

We’re working with a Canadian-based precision monitoring company called Transport Genie, who up until now, had focused on poultry trucks.

For our project, they’ve designed a new magnetic sensor unit that sticks to the side of the livestock pens on a ship to monitor humidity, temperature, carbon dioxide, and ammonia.

They’ve also designed a user interface software solution for smart devices, so that operators get early detection of any potential problems and can intervene early to improve safety for crew and livestock on board.

We’ve trialled them on a few livestock export vessels and the results have been very accurate, so this solution looks really promising.

You’re also trialling an automated AI-driven camera system to count and weigh cattle. Walk-over weighing doesn’t work?

It does work, but cattle need to go through a crush or stand still to get an accurate weight. Exporters want to weigh cattle at the point of loading and unloading – while they’re moving – and that requires a new approach.
We’re working with a Hungarian company called Pig Brother, who, as their name suggests, use cameras to measure and monitor pigs.

In our proof-of-concept trial they got 99% accuracy in counting cattle, and over 90% accuracy in weight estimation. Remember that this trial was just to see if the idea was viable, so those results – especially with the AI system having only been trained on 1,000 animals – really exceeded our expectations.

Imagine the accuracy once it’s trained with a bigger dataset.

The third trial is looking into whether rubber mats can be installed in high traffic zones on ships, to reduce the risk of animals slipping.

We're trialling that at the moment, working with an Australian company called Numat Group, which has worked in the dairy and feedlot sectors but never in live export.

The product is being installed on ships: on ramps, corners and other areas where animals might be more prone to sliding. But we’re also trialling it in the loading and unloading points of pre-export facilities – again, areas where there is a higher risk of slipping.

The product has never been used with sheep before and we’re getting really good feedback from exporters, so that is exciting for both us and NuMat.

Each of those companies is from outside the live export industry – and two of them are from outside Australia. They’ll need some help to get a foothold here?

We want to ensure levy payers get the most value from their R&D expenditure. A key part of that will be ensuring these companies bring products to market.

We’re only in proof-of-concept with these three, but the idea is that once a solution becomes viable, we will help them set up the networks they need to shift into commercialisation. The pathway they choose to market that product will be up to them, but we’ll support them with the connections that can help.

Partnering with an RDC must be a drawcard for these companies, with your network of industry contacts and insights into industry challenges, adoption behaviours, market intelligence…

There’s synergy between us and a commercial partner, for sure. We’ve built a lot of trust and positive relationships with industry – who recognise us as being motivated to help move the industry forward.

And I think it’s quite valuable for us to facilitate engagement between the guys who come in with the solution, and the people who need it – at least in the first instance.

LiveCorp’s got decades of runs on the board in solving industry challenges. It must be reassuring to exporters and industry partners that you do the hard yards on proving up these new technologies, too?

Yes, we’ve created everything from an industry data collection and reporting system to pioneering a shipboard wireless network system.

The industry is very interested in innovation and progress, but exporters are often time poor. This proof-of-concept work as a vetting service provides exporters with the confidence they need to grab these technologies and try them out, at very low risk.

The current three challenges – are they closed to new partners, or can other people who want to participate still get involved?

We’d be very keen on expressions of interest. The proof-of-concept is done – but the next stage is looking at how we get these solutions functioning in industry.

Maybe that’s taking the testing up a level. Maybe it’s help with commercialisation.

We know that there’s no one size fits all approach here to get solutions into industry hands. They’ll all require further interest and investment, and we’re really open to setting up those discussions.