SkyKelpie Prototypes Livestock Herding Algorithms in Queensland Paddock Trials

SkyKelpie has helped pioneer the adoption of drone mustering across Australia, with more than 600,000 head of livestock now being managed by SkyKelpie customers. On 24 June 2026 the company said it had successfully demonstrated a major step forward in autonomous livestock mustering and management, with livestock herding algorithms developed in a simulation environment now prototyped in real-world paddock conditions. Founder Luke Chaplain said: "Seeing livestock herding algorithms move from simulation into real-world trials is a significant milestone, not just for SkyKelpie, but for the future of livestock management more broadly." The work forms part of a collaborative project with Meat & Livestock Australia and the Queensland Department of Primary Industries, exploring how computer vision, simulation environments and autonomous systems can be applied to livestock management. Trials conducted across south-east and north-west Queensland demonstrated how algorithms designed around livestock movement principles could be transferred from a simulated environment into practical field testing. SkyKelpie says the work shows that autonomous livestock movement is technically achievable under certain conditions. For Chaplain, the project represents another stage in a journey that began with trialling cheap photography drones on his home property near Cloncurry, in north-west Queensland. SkyKelpie says the project also reinforced a critical lesson: animal behaviour, terrain, environmental conditions, welfare outcomes and human judgement all play a role in successful livestock movement, and the skill and adaptability of experienced stockpeople will remain central to achieving positive outcomes. Chaplain said: "Our experience shows that commercialising AI in grazing is proving to be more about restraint than outright replacement." SkyKelpie says the opportunity now extends beyond mustering into a broader range of repeatable on-farm tasks, which may include livestock headcounts, pasture and biomass analysis, infrastructure and water monitoring, fence line checks and identification of pests. The company has also launched a customer portal integrating AI-powered support and troubleshooting tools, designed to help producers operating in rural and remote environments access information, solve problems and receive support.