Episode 8 | Professor James Trevelyan — From Shearing Robots to Solving Global Challenges

Episode Notes:

In this episode of The Dirt, we sit down with Professor James Trevelyan — a pioneering robotics researcher, mechanical and mechatronics engineer, and inventor. James led the team behind the Shear Magic robot — one of the world's first automated sheep shearing systems — in the 1980s, and has since built a career spanning IoT, AI, engineering education, and global development.

We cover:

• The story behind the Shear Magic robot — what it was, the technical challenges the team faced, and why it never became a commercial product
• The social pushback to robotic shearing and why the concept still unsettles people today
• Whether autonomous sheep shearing could finally become a reality with modern technology
• James' pioneering work in internet-controlled robots and how IoT could help address water access and food security
• His refreshingly candid take on AI — including why he's called it "Artificial Incompetence" — and what role it might actually play in agriculture
• Lessons from his books on engineering practice that apply well beyond engineering
• How engineers can help solve poverty and food security — and his advice for building a career in agricultural technology

This is a conversation that spans decades of innovation, from shearing sheds to global food systems — with a healthy dose of wisdom on what it really means to be an engineer.

Youtube: Robot Sheep Shearing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZAh2zv7TMM

Hosts: Dr Wesley Moss and Associate Professor Andrew Guzzomi

Produced by Stephanie Lye

This podcast is brought to you by The University of Western Australia's Centre for Engineering Innovation: Agriculture and Ecological Restoration. Find out more about our research or get in touch at https://www.uwa-cei.org/