Kit Franklin

Kit Franklin serves as a Senior Engagement Fellow in the Engineering department at Harper Adams University, leading the pioneering Hands Free Hectare project for fully autonomous farming systems. His work bridges engineering innovation and agricultural practice through the Harper Institute of Technology.

Research focuses on agricultural automation, robotics, and emerging technologies including tractor-implement management integration, 5G rural implementation, and connected autonomous vehicles. He champions technology-enabled agroecology and regenerative agriculture practices to solve critical farming challenges.

Key honors include Fellowship of the Royal Agricultural Society of England. Professional leadership roles encompass:

• President-elect of the Institution of Agricultural Engineers (IAgrE)
• Trustee and Executive Committee Member of IAgrE
• Joint Head of IAgrE Robotics Specialist Interest Group

He contributes to industry standards as BSI Technical Subcommittee member developing crop robot codes of practice and participates in the UK Telecoms Innovation Network Agri-tech Working Group.