R.D. Tillett

About

R.D. Tillett is a pioneering figure in agricultural robotics and computer vision, whose work has fundamentally shaped the automation of biological systems. His research spans three key areas: vision-guided manipulation for horticulture and micropropagation, automated livestock monitoring, and computational modeling of collective animal behavior. Tillett’s most notable contributions include developing the first robotic mushroom harvesting system (1994, 42 citations), which demonstrated the feasibility of automated selective picking in commercial growing beds, and creating novel algorithms for locating mushrooms in complex environments (1991, 35 citations). His innovative work extended to livestock management, where he designed a vision-guided robot capable of tracking a live, loosely constrained pig (2004, 17 citations)—a breakthrough in non-invasive animal monitoring. Perhaps most remarkably, Tillett introduced an entirely new approach to modeling collective animal behavior by automatically extracting flocking models from video sequences (1997, 23 citations), moving beyond traditional simulation-based methods. His technical achievements include developing calibration systems for agricultural robots (1989) and creating specialized manipulation tools for micropropagation automation (2002). With over 160 total citations across a decade of foundational work, Tillett’s research remains essential reading for anyone interested in the intersection of robotics, computer vision, and biological systems.

Research Focus

Key Achievements

Top Papers

1. 1
   Initial experiments in robotic mushroom harvesting

   42 citations · 1994
2. 2
   An algorithm for locating mushrooms in a growing bed

   35 citations · 1991
3. 3
   Modelling Collective Animal Behaviour using Extended Point Distribution Models.

   23 citations · 1997
4. 4
   A vision guided robot for tracking a live, loosely constrained pig

   17 citations · 2004
5. 5
   The development and evaluation of image analysis procedures for guiding a livestock monitoring sensor placement robot

   15 citations · 2000
6. 6
   Development of a Vision Guided Robot Manipulator for Packing Horticultural Produce

   9 citations · 1995
7. 7
   AP—Animal Production Technology

   7 citations · 2002
8. 8
   Image-guided robotics for the automation of micropropagation

   6 citations · 2002
9. 9
   A calibration system for vision-guided agricultural robots

   5 citations · 1989
10. 10
    Vision-guided planting of dissected microplants

    5 citations · 1990

Key Collaborators

Contact & Links