HONE
Hone Lab: On-farm Grain Analyser
2021
Research, Concept + Development
HONE LAB RED
On-farm Grain Analyser: Analyse your wheat, barley and canola for quality parameters.
Real-time decisions to improve yields: The Hone Lab analyser is a powerful field spectrometer for the measurement of grain quality on-farm in real-time. As the Hone platform expands, the companion smartphone app will allow new testing capabilities to be completed (plant tissue, a range of soil nutrients, feed and more) on this versatile handheld instrument. Hone Lab provides the agriculture industry with real-time knowledge of soil health and crop quality, enabling decisions to be made in real time to achieve better yielding crops.
As the Hone platform expands, software upgrades will allow testing of other materials such as soil and plant tissue.
A need for real-time testing + results.
Design Challenge: Off-site sample testing takes weeks. The industry needs in-the-field testing with accurate results in minutes.
Current market solutions see growers and those throughout the commodity supply chain outsourcing sample testing and analysis to off-site third-parties. Current processes generally involve the collection of samples (grain, plant material + soil), packaging, barcoding, manually filling out forms, mailing samples by post and waiting for periods generally longer than 2 weeks to receive results. The challenge was to develop a small ergonomic + ruggedised hand-held analyser, utilising next-generation high fidelity and performance NIR Sensor modules. When paired with the Hone smartphone application, the analyser needed to function as a simple all-in-one NIR spectrometer with real-time spectral processing and chemical quantification to deliver accurate and usable data in the moment for rapid decision making in-the-field.
Portable, robust and reliable on-farm testing.
Design Solution: A portable, robust and reliable on-farm grain, plant matter and soil nutrient analyser.
Hone Lab makes on-farm and commodity supply chain chemical testing and analysis of samples (grain, plant material and soil) fast and simple for the agriculture industry. The Hone Lab analyser has been developed in tandem with industry (Farmers and key players throughout the supply chain) + has been refined through iterative real-user testing throughout the process. Hone Lab features an ergonomic hand-held form factor and has been designed for operation in tough outdoor conditions (IP67: dust tight + water protection, operable in temperatures ranging from 0°C to 60°C, built tough to withstand drop damages + corrosion resistant).
Hone Lab features a minimalised physical interface and an intuitive smartphone application (Hone Mobile App: iOS® + Android™) that guides users step-by-step through performing a sample scan to receiving results. Hone Lab can be easily operated with a single hand, leaving the other available for handling samples or navigating the app. The device features a single button that activates sample scanning. Hone Lab is compatible with a number of sample collection 'heads' to optimise the reading of different material samples, the head can also be removed allowing Hone to be pushed directly into samples; such as soil. The device utilises Hone’s unique optical configuration to allow rapid measurement of multiple sample types on a single device. The spectral engine is powered by two sensors covering a wide spectral range spanning visible and near-infrared (NIR) regions and includes a large measurement area for consistency with heterogeneous samples.
1,000 data-points per sample.
Design Solution: Hone's spectral engine is powered by two sensors covering a wide spectral range spanning visible and near-infrared (NIR) regions
Hone Lab is powered by proprietary machine learning ‘Sample Analysis’ algorithms, rigorous testing has validated the accuracy of Hone's spectrometry technology to capture key sample data points in-the-field, with accurate results comparable to that of off-site lab testing. The device captures approximately 1,000 data-points per sample material scan, and links this data to Hone's proprietary machine learning material sample databases, there is no comparable product in the market. Decisions to improve yield or judge material quality can be safely made based on Hone Lab scan data. Hone Lab functionality can be enhanced via Smartphone App Updates and the integration of additional new material sample databases.
Hone Lab eliminates the currently slow and inconvenient processes of agricultural material testing - physically posting samples to labs and waiting 2-3 weeks for results. Hone improves the process for growers to improve the quality of yield and empowers those throughout the commodity supply chain to test + verify the quality of inputs each time materials change hands.
