Cornwall-based Agritech company Glas Data has joined C4DI as part of their mission to enhance farm management through data automation technology.
With a specially-designed cloud-based data aggregation dashboard and Smart Agriculture IoT devices and sensors, Glas Data enables farmers to collect, collate and visualise data in a simple, time-saving and sustainable way.
"It all started around three years ago when Rob Sanders and I met during Falmouth University's Launchpad (with MA Entrepreneurship) course. We both recognised that farmers, food processors and retailers were restricted by their data with much of it being collected manually and taking a long time, as well as being stored across different apps and devices,” explains Colin Phillipson, Director of Glas Data.
"This inspired us to build a solution that pulled all of that fragmented data into one central dashboard to help farmers improve efficiency and increase productivity."
Glas Data’s Founders Colin Phillipson (left) and Rob Sanders (right).
The dashboard, called GlasCore, combines and aggregates data from all different sources, helping the farmer save time while gaining a deeper understanding of their data. Meanwhile, Glas Data also produces small LoRaWAN sensors that collect real-time data, such as temperature, humidity, weight and water flow, across different areas of farmland.
"One example of our technology in action is water management. Before installing our smart water metres and dashboard, one of our clients lost £30,000 worth of water during a leak, because they previously checked their water manually only once per month. Since using our technology, they now receive a notification if any unscheduled water flow occurs," he tells us.
"Another example where our technology is being used is grain supplies. By placing a sensor in the grain silo, the farmer can track how much grain they have left to feed their animals. We've even set up an automated message that is sent to the farmer's grain supplier that automatically alerts them when supplies are low."
The team at Glas Data is continuously growing and evolving their technology to include even more features for farmers.
A new addition is the maps feature, which enables farmers to bring up a digital map of their farm and mouse over different areas to quickly visualise and access important information.
"Traditionally, this data would have had to be all measured and recorded manually, so it saves the farmer huge amounts of time when they can look at this data on a laptop or mobile device."
Glas Data’s LoRaWAN watermetres
Agri-data management is about more than merely saving businesses time, however. By freeing up a farmer's time and reducing the need for manual and mundane tasks, they can focus more time and energy on improving their efficiency and increasing sustainability.
"The ideas are endless, and we're continuously growing our product and adapting to the different needs of farmers and other businesses within the food production industry."
By joining C4DI, Glas Data hopes to make key connections with other like-minded agritech and technology startups.
Glas Data is one of the many new Agritech companies to join our community, which is part of the opening of a second C4DI tech hub in Northallerton.
"C4DI Northallerton is an exciting new campus focused on helping tech companies grow, and traditional businesses innovate within the agriculture and food processing sectors. We're thrilled to have Glas Data on board to mark the beginning of this new chapter for C4DI," enthuses John Connolly, Managing Director of C4DI.
Claire Lowe, Business and Economy Officer for Hambleton District Council, is currently working with the C4DI team to help build and support a new community in North Yorkshire:
"Digital skills and services are key to the future of North Yorkshire's market towns as is recognised in the recently-released York and North Yorkshire LEP Future Towns report," Claire enthuses.
"We are grateful that the digital hub was granted £1.8 million from the Local Growth Fund awarded by the LEP to assist with the refurbishment and fit-out of the former female wing of the prison. This has enabled this historic building to find a fresh, vibrant and productive role in the future of the town."
Recently, Glas Data was featured on BBC Radio 4's Farming Today segment, talking about how their IoT Smart Sensors are helping free-range egg producer Matthew Dart to improve animal welfare and efficiency on his Devonshire farm.
To find out more about Glas Data, please visit glas-data.co.uk. Meanwhile, you can read more about C4DI’s new Northallerton campus here.