THE CSIRO has combined a golf cart with some clever engineering to develop a radical vehicle loaded with technology which can be used in the cropping industry.
Dubbed the Phenomobile, the vehicle has been created by the CSIRO's High Resolution Plant Phenomics Centre in Canberra.
The Phenomobile will be used to measure a variety of crop parameters around Australia.
It uses an array of technology including infra-red and thermal cameras and global positioning satellite equipment.
It has a ground speed of 5-10km/h and the rear wheels are chain driven from the golf cart chassis which is suspended in a large skeletal-like frame.
The CSIRO intends to use the vehicle for crop trial work.
Its applications include measuring crop temperatures, monitoring crop growth and providing three-dimensional images of plant development.
A movable gantry at the front of the vehicle can be raised to a height of 3.7m.
Th gantry houses many of the Phenomobile's gadgetry.
Underframe clearance is about 1m so the vehicle can be used in a variety of crops at different growth stages.
The CSIRO's plant industry division communications officer David Thompson said the centre plans to use the imagery and information generated by the vehicle to measure crops undergoing different stresses such as salt, drought or heat stress.
"That will ultimately help researchers in selecting and developing plants that can cope with these environments," David said.
"Gaining a better knowledge of how the crops perform during periods of stress could lead to better plant breeding research."
David said the Phenomobile was able to accurately measure and record temperature variances in the grain heads of cereals or develop three-dimensional images of a particular growth stage of a crop.
David said the centre has plans to develop similar technology for an aerial blimp.
