N.J.B. McFarlane

Silsoe Research Institute, Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council

Papers

Total Citations

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About

N.J.B. McFarlane is a pioneer in the application of computer vision and robotics to agricultural and biological engineering. His research focuses on automating delicate, labor-intensive tasks in farming and plant science, particularly through image-guided systems. McFarlane’s most cited work, “Inspection of teats by colour image analysis for automatic milking systems” (1996, 12 citations), introduced a novel computer-vision method to assess teat condition, improving animal welfare and milking efficiency. He also made significant contributions to plant micropropagation automation, as detailed in “Image-guided robotics for the automation of micropropagation” (2002, 6 citations), where he developed a robotic workstation with novel manipulation tools for handling plant tissues. Earlier, his “A computer-vision algorithm for automatic guidance of microplant harvesting” (1991, 6 citations) laid groundwork for automated harvesting of microplants. Though his citation counts reflect a niche field, McFarlane’s work has been instrumental in advancing precision agriculture and lab automation, demonstrating how interdisciplinary engineering can solve real-world biological challenges. His achievements highlight the potential of robotics to transform traditional agricultural practices.