HoloCrop

HoloCrop builds autonomous rovers kitted with GPS, LiDAR and multiple cameras that roll down orchard and vineyard rows, stitching thousands of images into complete 3D models of individual trees and vines. Its AI then counts and measures fruit, flowers, leaves and branches — even those buried in dense foliage — to deliver virtual packouts, size class histograms and growth metrics.

Traditional yield forecasting still leans on human counters and can be off by as much as 25%, a costly gap when growers are locking in sales contracts and organising labour. HoloCrop says its system hits 95% accuracy for some crops just weeks before harvest.

The company is a spinout from the University of Canterbury, commercialising research from a multi-year, government-funded MBIE Endeavour programme via the UC Vision group. It was co-founded by research engineer Dr Richie Ellingham alongside Oliver Batchelor.

The founding team is made up of research engineers with prior industry experience, with Ellingham drawing on his work inside UC's Vision research group. That academic-to-commercial pedigree fits a problem that is as much about computer vision as it is about agriculture.