XLRator’s SEA Cluster Initiative sees success with local tech player i-Open Technologies’ collaboration with SFU to allow students to work in real-life scenarios using BC’s first data analytics portal for precision agriculture, Agrilyze.
Abbotsford, BC, July 14, 2020 – XLRator is pleased to announce the success of its SEA Cluster Initiative that brings together the tech and farming industry, educational institutes and regional businesses to develop AI-enabled products and software for the local economy.
As part of the initiative, SFU students engaged with Agrilyze, an innovative data analytics platform developed by i-Open that helps farmers with farm efficiency, profitability, land use management, compliance, traceability, sustainability, and more.
Under the supervision of Dr. Mehrdad Moallen (Supervisor) and product owner Jonathon McIntyre (i-Open), students studied water runoff issues on farms and built sensors to detect runoffs.
Jonathon comments, “It has been a very exciting exercise to partner with farms and engineering students from across the world to focus on a local (and global) problem. By combining agricultural industry experts (the farmers) with academics (capstone project students) with maps, SaaS technology and data analytics, we are working towards a unique and synergistic approach to an environmental challenge. Real-world people who are solving real-world problems to benefit the real world.”
The SFU team adds, “It was great to see students learning from real-life experience working directly with farmers and the technical team at i-Open. Such an alignment is critical to demonstrate the importance of innovation within the local industry and for the development of applied tech solutions that will advance precision agriculture within the region.”
With the introduction of new regulations in BC, farmers face issues identifying and remedying water runoff problems. The project helped students understand runoff issues while working with the local farming community and industry. The students were also able to analyze and identify the best ways to tackle the problem with better accuracy of results.
The initiative is a testimony to XLRator’s vision – transforming Abbotsford into the AgTech capital of Canada and a hub for Ag-based innovation. The project brought together the local tech and agriculture industries to collaborate and find AI-driven sustainable solutions for local and global food systems and how we plan to feed the growing population.
About SFU
Simon Fraser University (SFU) is a public research university in British Columbia, Canada. Established in 1965 and comprising of more than 30,000 students and approximately 950 faculty members, SFU provides undergraduate and graduate programs year-round. With its distinct west-coast spirit, SFU is consistently ranked as Canada’s top comprehensive university.
About Agrilyze
Agrilyze is a leading-edge, cloud-hosted analytics platform that blends actionable local data, and high tech to enhance farm performance. As the first of its kind platform, Agrilyze reveals new opportunities in the field, predicts future trends, optimizes current operational efforts, and, most importantly – produces actionable insights that matter to business. https://agrilyze.ca
Contact Information:
Agrilyze
Jonathon McIntyre
SFU
Dr. Mehrdad Moallen
www.sfu.ca
