FluroSat – growing better crops through remote sensing
FluroSat
Flurosat has developed a platform that analyses images from aerial photography and satellites to determine the stress on plants (particularly crops). This information is then provided to agronomists and farmers to assist them to respond to the needs of crops, improving yields. The Accelerating Commercialisation grant allowed them to fast track their trials and development.
FluroSat Pty Ltd are an agricultural technology start-up, helping crop advisors ‘grow more for less’.
Helping farmers proactively manage their crops, FluroSat’s technology FluroSense combines agricultural modelling, remote sensing imaging (from drone, plane and satellite) and machine learning to detect early signs of plant stress and aid proactive management.
With adaptive, accurate and actionable analytics, crop growers are able to make better-informed decisions to drive business profitability.
Accessible from PCs, smartphones or tablets, FluroSense visually highlights stress areas for growers. Farmers and businesses are able to address water and nutrient stress in real time by reducing fertiliser and water waste, and improving their crop yields. Using FluroSense can help improve agricultural productivity by increasing crop yields by 10-25 per cent and reducing fertiliser use by 30 per cent.
Before they head to the farm, users know precisely what type of issues that they are seeing there.
Outcomes
FluroSat have grown from 5 staff to 25 staff, and have recently acquired the ProductionWise platform from Grain Growers Limited.
Using its FluroSense technology, the business has ground-truthed over 20,000 hectares of crops.
Since releasing the FluroSense decision support platform in August 2018, the business has raised an additional $1,000,000 and from investors such as CSIRO Main Sequence fund.
How the government has helped
FluroSat received a $793,737 Accelerating Commercialisation Grant under the Entrepreneurs’ Programme. Commercialisation Adviser Topaz Conway provided crucial strategic advice and assistance, to tackle both big and everyday business challenges.
“Topaz looked at the innovation as the business: making money, suiting the market, and taking on the world,’ said Anastasia. ‘The Entrepreneurs’ Programme has definitely been instrumental in getting us here”.
The funding was instrumental in getting the business ready for the future and helped it to develop its expansion plans. It also helped in attracting some of the nation’s best venture capital funds as investors. Grant funding supported data collection and proof-of-concept trials in Australia in preparation for successful expansion into the US.
A collaboration with the CSIRO has enabled FluroSat to deliver application-ready nutrient recommendations to growers and agronomists globally.
Download Flurosat's customer story
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