About
Work History:
Robotics Software Engineer - Japan
Currently I am working at SEQSENSE / シークセンス writing software for our SQ2 and Forro robots. SQ2 is an autonomous security robot that carries out scheduled, pre-defined patrols each day in large office buildings. Forro is a delivery robot developed as part of a joint venture with Kawasaki Heavy Industries.
Both models of robot utilise a custom design of rotating turntable with three 2D LiDARs for environmental perception and navigation. Additionally, the robots have wide-angle cameras placed around its structure to achieve a 360-degree field of view. Robots feeds real-time data to a web-based platform, enabling security personnel to monitor patrols or jobs and view the robot's activities at any moment. The robot is capable of self-docking for battery recharging and is equipped to use designated elevators, facilitating multi-level patrol operations.
Robotics Post-Doctoral Researcher - New Zealand
As a post-doctoral researcher for the University of Waikato and The University of Auckland, I contributed to the development of a robotic system for the kiwifruit industry. This project was a collaboration between the universities, Plant and Food Research, and Robotics Plus Ltd and was funded by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment. As a team of about 12 people, we developed robotics for autonomously pollinating and harvesting kiwifruit as well as a multi-purpose platform to which we could attach the pollinating and harvesting robots.
Autonomous platform
My area was the development of our multi-purpose platform, a mobile base for the kiwifruit harvesting and pollinating modules. The platform was a hybrid petrol-electric vehicle capable of autonomous row-following in kiwifruit orchards by way of lidar based sensing of the orchard's structure. It could drive fully electrically by way of six electric motor/gearbox units while providing AC and DC power outputs any mounted robotic systems. Also, it had a carrying capacity of 1 tonne on its payload space, plus extra capacity to carry kiwifruit in the space between the rear wheels.
Kiwifruit harvesting
The kiwifruit harvester could identify kiwifruit in 3D using stereo cameras and artificial neural network, decide in which order to harvest the kiwifruit (to minimise damage to neighboring fruit), then instruct the custom robotic harvesting arms to take the fruit. The system used stereo vision, neural networks, and robotic arms to pick kiwifruit from the vines. See the video for a demonstration of the system in action.
Kiwifruit pollination
The pollinator could use the same cameras and neural-networks to identify flowers in 3D and then shoot pollen solution at flowers as the vehicle drove underneath. The time-of-flight of the pollen solution was calculated for each shot so the pollen would hit the flower while the vehicle was in motion. This animation shows the general process.
This was an incredible project to be a part of, and I am really proud of the work we did. I learned a lot about robotics, machine learning, and the kiwifruit industry. I also learned a lot about working in a large team and the importance of good communication and documentation.
Publications:
- Mark Hedley Jones, Jamie Bell, Daniel Dredge, Matthew Seabright, Alistair Scarfe, Mike Duke, Bruce MacDonald (2019). Design and Testing of a Heavy-Duty Platform for Autonomous Navigation in Kiwifruit Orchards. Biosystems Engineering
- Henry Williams, Mahla Nejati, Salome Hussein, Nicky Penhall, Jong Yoon Lim, Mark Hedley Jones, Jamie Bell, Ho Seok Ahn, Stuart Bradley, Peter Schaare, Paul Martinsen, Mohammad Alomar, Purak Patel, Matthew Seabright, Mike Duke, Alistair Scarfe, Bruce MacDonald (2019). Autonomous pollination of individual kiwifruit flowers: Toward a robotic kiwifruit pollinator. Journal of Field Robotics.
- Henry Williams, Canaan Ting, Mahla Nejati, Mark Hedley Jones, Nicky Penhall, JongYoon Lim, Matthew Seabright, Jamie Bell, Ho Seok Ahn, Alistair Scarfe, Mike Duke, and Bruce MacDonald (2019). Improvements to and large‐scale evaluation of a robotic kiwifruit harvester. Journal of Field Robotics
- Henry A.M. Williams, Mark H. Jones, Mahla Nejati, Matthew J. Seabright, Jamie Bell, Nicky D. Penhall, Josh J. Barnett, Mike D. Duke, Alistair J. Scarfe, Ho Seok Ahn, JongYoon Lim, Bruce A. MacDonald (2019). Robotic kiwifruit harvesting using machine vision, convolutional neural networks, and robotic arms. Biosystems Engineering
- Jones, M H, Seabright, M, Barnett, J, Neshausen, G, Duke, M, & Scarfe, A. (2017). An Electrically Driven, Computer Controlled Robotics Platform for Orchard Use. Poster Presentation at The International Tri-Conference for Precision Agriculture in 2017, Hamilton, New Zealand
- Seabright, M, Jones, M H, Williams, H, Nejati, M, Barnett, J, Duke, M, … MacDonald, B. (2017). Robotic harvesting of kiwifruit. Poster Presentation at The International Tri-Conference for Precision Agriculture in 2017, Hamilton, New Zealand
- Jones, M. H. (2016). The Electrical Properties of Interfacial Double Layers (Thesis, Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)). University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand.
- Hicks, B. J., Jones, M. H., de Villiers, J. E., & Ling, N. (2015). Use of Electrofishing for Capturing Invasive Fish. In K. J. Collier & N. P. J. Grainger (Eds.), New Zealand Invasive Fish Management Handbook (pp. 72–79). Hamilton, New Zealand: Lake Ecosystem Restoration New Zealand (LERNZ) & Department of Conservation.
- Jones, M. H., & Scott, J. B. (2014). Feasibility of Harvesting Power To Run A Domestic Water Meter Using Streaming Cell Technology. Presented at the 21st Electronics New Zealand Conference (ENZCon), 20 - 21 Nov 2014, Hamilton, New Zealand.
- Jones, M. H., & Scott, J. B. (2014). Scaling of Electrode-Electrolyte Interface Model Parameters In Phosphate Buffered Saline. IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Circuits and Systems, 9(3), 441–448.
- Jones, M.H. & Scott, J.B. (2011). The energy efficiency of 8-bit low-power microcontrollers. In Proceedings of the 18th Electronics New Zealand Conference, ENZCON 2011, Massey University, Palmerston North, 21-22 November 2011, pp. 87-90.
- Jones, M. H. & Scott, J. (2011). Design study of a thermocouple power sensor as a monolithic fin-line. Paper presented at the 77th ARFTG Microwave Measurement Conference. Baltimore, Maryland; June 10 2011.
- Jones, M. H. (2010). Millimetre Wave Power Measurement (Thesis, Master of Engineering (ME)). The University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand.
Curriculum Vitae:
My CV is always available and up-to-date.
