The University of Queensland qaafi.uq.edu.au
The University of Queensland, QAAFI and the Queensland Government
QAAFI Centre for Horticultural Science

DigiHort

Developing Digital Twins, High Performance Computing and AI technologies to advance horticulture

Delivering affordable, adaptable, adoptable and reliable AgTech platforms and solutions to accelerate innovation of farming facilities and planting systems

Enabling real-world impacts with better yield, lower cost and less pollution

Translating university research to create change

Industry-oriented research

Demands, funds, expertise and insights from Industry
Development, validation and demonstration with Industry
Outputs, outcomes and impacts for Industry

Our Technologies

DigiHort Spray

  • Optimise spray equipment selection, configuration, and operation
  • Minimise agrichemical drift
  • Enhance pesticide distribution and deposition
  • Prevent over- and under-application
  • Make robotic sprayers more precise and responsive, while simpler and cheaper
spray.digihort.ai →

DigiHort Light

  • Analyse light distribution across scales: leaf → canopy → row → orchard
  • Optimise orchard design (layout, canopy architecture, density, terrain, latitude)
  • Inform canopy management (trellis training, pruning, machine trimming, etc.)
  • Accelerate agrivoltaic system design and adoption

DigiHort Phenotyping

  • Automated on-canopy fruit detection
  • Precise 3D localisation of individual fruits

AI-TC Accelerator

Co-developed with QAAFI Tissue Culture Team
  • Optimise tissue culture media
  • Accelerate large-scale crop propagation

Our Features

Fidelity
High-fidelity digital twins
Geographic and geometric details matching reality
Complexity
High-complexity simulations
Tens of billions of individual droplets and explicit rays travelling across digital twins
Performance
High-performance computing with commodity hardware
  • 7-minute spray evaluation vs 1 day with conventional simulation or 2 weeks in field
  • 1-minute tracing of 1 billion rays in orchard digital twin
Accuracy
High-accuracy results
  • Validated against field measurements (mechanistic modelling independent from field results)
  • Unique ID for every fruit, every droplet, and every ray

Our Online Digital Twinning Platform

Visit digihort.ai →

Our Case Studies

01

Optimise spray decision and practices within commercial farms

02

Evaluate crop protection and energy generation with orchard agrivoltaics

03

Innovation of narrow orchard systems

Our DigiHort Team at QAAFI

Dr Liqi Han
Dr Liqi Han
Team Lead
Dr Jian Cao
Dr Jian Cao
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Harry Singh
Harry Singh
PhD Candidate
Co-fostered with Tatura SmartFarm
Flynn Fu
Flynn Fu
PhD Candidate
Co-fostered with QAAFI Tissue Culture Team
Wafiq Zariful
Wafiq Zariful
PhD Candidate
Yi En Wong
Yi En Wong
Research Assistant

Our Contact Information

Dr Liqi Han
[email protected]
Dr Jian Cao
[email protected]
QAAFI Communications and Marketing Desk
[email protected]
QAAFI Business Development
[email protected]

Our Partners

Agriculture Victoria Hort Innovation Frontiers Food Agility Queensland Fruit and Vegetable Growers Applied Research and Technologies New Zealand Apples and Pears AgFirst Plant and Food Research, New Zealand Western Australia Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development NSW Department of Primary Industries Government of South Australia and SARDI Horticultural Spraying Specialists