Research | University of Lincoln

Making a Difference Through Innovation

With a clear focus on improving productivity, efficiency, and sustainability through innovation, LIAT’s researchers are engaged in international impactful research designed to make a difference across the food chain. Encapsulating an interdisciplinary approach, our research brings together crop science, computer science, engineering, robotics, AI, and data management application.

The application of technological innovation is crucial to help solve some of the big challenges facing agriculture and food production. LIAT works closely with industry partners to apply research in a real-life setting, supporting industry needs.

Research Themes

Soil, Water, and Crop Science

Soil and water sciences at LIAT focus on the study of agricultural field drainage and soil management. Research aims to support farmers, land owners, and ecosystem managers in developing effective, sustainable approaches to land and water management.

Find out More

A group of students with a farming robot

Robotics and Automation

The field of robotics and automation is a key strategic theme, looking at the development of innovative solutions to food and farming production. Solutions impact the end-to-end food and farming value chain.

Find out More

Impact and Society

Considering the end-to-end food and farming value chain, together with systems within our agricultural ecosystem to see the value of technology and how we can engineer solutions that deliver global impact and address some of our world challenges.

Find out More

Net Zero Agriculture and Carbon

Considering the impact of carbon sequestration and ways in which soil health might be measured using applied technologies and data sciences.

Find out More

Strawberry flowers growing in a large greenhouse

Robotic Phenotyping

By using robots to consistently and repeatably observe and measure crop growth, we are able to help inform plant breeders and growers about the performance of a type of plant or group of plants.

Find out More

Food Safety and Security

Digital and extended connected capability support the evidencing of food security pathways, and data sensing and modelling systems allow for forecasting and the development of approaches to risk management.

Find out More

Crop Care

Using technology to care for crops involves the deployment of novel sensing systems, data collection, and real time data analysis to help understand the micro-environment of individual plants within a crop.

Find out More

Selective Harvesting

Developing systems that identify harvest ready crops can enable reliable and consistent picking/harvesting, using a mix of practical engineering solutions, robotics, vision and sensing systems, data collection sensors, and computer science.

Find out More

External shot of refrigeration research centre

Energy Efficiency and Sustainability

Developing solutions for the energy efficiency and sustainability of food production systems, which include wireless communications, extended data networks, and sustainable energy innovation.

Find out More

Research Themes and Sustainable Development Goals

Our research is embedded in the following University research themes, a unique set of areas that key into our goals as a civic university undertaking internationally significant research with local relevance, and as researchers engaged in the pursuit of excellence. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals badges represent our research and collaborations in terms of their contribution to the issues the world faces today and into the future.

Rurality

Digitalisation

Research Centres

AgriFoRwArdS

ESPRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Agri-Food Robotics: AgriFoRwArdS

Find out More

Lincoln Agri Robotics

The world's first global centre of excellence in agricultural robotics.

Find out More

Lincoln Centre for Autonomous Systems (L-CAS)

Specialising in technologies for perception, learning, decision-making, control, and interaction in autonomous systems.

Find out More