19 March 2012
The bringing together of the Ministry of Science and Innovation’s (MSI) undergraduate internship scheme and Frizzell
Agricultural Electronics Hydrotec system is reaping benefits for farmers. Matt Almutairi, a recent graduate, and Dr
Stuart Charters from Lincoln University’s Department of Applied Computing have been working with Nick and Alastair
Frizzell to automate the data handling, communicating via SMS, of the Hydrotec system.
“Over the last five years Frizzell Agricultural Electronics has developed and tested a unique soil moisture management
system,” says Alastair Frizzell.
“The Hydrotec system provides irrigation farmers with not only information on historical and current soil moisture but
also provides daily predictions on future requirements. The system, however, has been limited in its application by the
need for daily manual input to send out the data to farmers.”
As a Lincoln University graduate himself, Nick Frizzell was aware of the skills available and sought an intern under the
MSI undergraduate internship scheme to assist with the next phase of Hydrotec’s development. Matt Almutairi’s skills
were matched with the Frizzell Agricultural Electronics’ project.
Matt and Nick began their research into the project by interviewing farmers to find out the information the farmers
needed and how it could be presented to make it user friendly. The conclusion they came to was that while most farmers
checked emails occasionally, virtually all had cell phones or smart phones and this allowed them to access information
as they went around the farm.
Matt found the talks with the farmers “were a real eye opener”. The message received from the farmers was that often the
time when soil moisture information was needed was when an irrigator was about to be shifted. The information was needed
on the job in the paddock, not back on a computer at the house or office.
The MSI undergraduate internship scheme has provided benefits for Lincoln University, Matt and Frizzell Agricultural
Electronics.
Lincoln University’s Dr Stuart Charters mentored Matt to bring this project together for Frizzell Agricultural
Electronics. “The attraction for students to study at Lincoln University is our focus on understanding and evaluating
existing and developing new techniques and theories and applying them to solve real world problems. The MSI internship
provides one vehicle for students to solve a real world problem and for an organisation to develop an innovative
product.”
Matt adds that the main benefit for him was “that I had to learn new technologies for the development of the soil
moisture software. This was a great opportunity to increase my knowledge and my portfolio.”
Alastair Frizzell commented that the project would have been beyond the technical resources of the company. “We could
not have done the project without the support of Stuart Charters and the other staff at Lincoln University. The whole
project has been a team effort”.
After the internship is completed Matt will start his next project for a dairy consultant in Canterbury to develop
online systems for the management and administration of dairy farms. Taking the knowledge and practical skills gained at
Lincoln University, Matt has co-founded a website and app development company ‘Crazyweb’ and plans to expand his
business in the near future.
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About the Department of Applied Computing, Faculty of Environment, Society and Design, Lincoln University
The Department of Applied Computing at Lincoln University involves using computing technology to solve real world
problems. The University teaches courses in programming, systems analysis, databases, hardware, operating systems,
networking, end user computing and simulation. The Department is also strongly involved in research and postgraduate
teaching leading to honours, masters and PhD degrees.
About Frizzell Agricultural Electronics
Frizzell Agricultural Electronics create leading electronic measurement systems specifically targeting farmers, horticulturists and amenity managers. The Hydrotec system collects soil moisture, soil temperature and precipitation information from a crop or pasture. The
information is sent via the cell phone network to Frizzell Agricultural Electronics’ office at Kirwee. The information,
including predictive information using weather forecasting, is sent directly to the farmer via email or once the current
project is finished by text message via a smart phone app.
About the Ministry of Science and Innovation Undergraduate Internships
The programme aims to give New Zealand’s future innovators a head start through experience in a commercial research
environment. Funding is provided to larger businesses that run internship programmes as well as smaller businesses that
are developing their first innovative product. The internship programme provides funding for up to 400 hours of work.
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ENDS