Overview

There are many definitions of Biosystems Engineering. The common features of these definitions are that they encompass: (a) ‘an emerging engineering discipline’, (b) ‘biologically-based infrastructure’, (c) ‘fundamental concepts of biological systems’, (d) ‘the value of applications’, and (e) ‘a scale ranging from molecular structure to large-scale systems at the catchment level’.

The ‘American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers’ (ASABE) defines biosystems/biological engineering as a specialisation within biosystems/biological and agricultural engineering that ‘applies engineering to the problems and opportunities presented by living organisms and the natural environment’. The Institute of Biological Engineering, on the other hand, defines it as “a biology-based discipline that integrates the life sciences with engineering in the development of biological systems and the application of fundamental concepts”.

The Journal of Biosystems Engineering, meanwhile, provides the following definition: “Biosystems Engineering is concerned with education and research in the physical sciences and engineering to understand, model, process or develop biological systems aimed at sustainable development in agriculture, food, land and water use, and the environment.”

Although there are many definitions, in general terms, ‘Biosystems Engineering is a branch of engineering that involves the broad application of engineering sciences to biological systems and processes’.

The areas of study and work include:

Automation and emerging technologies in agriculture,
Precision farming techniques,
Energy and machinery,
Mechanisation applications in crop and livestock production,
Post-harvest mechanisation applications,
Agricultural structures,
Development of land and water resources,
and
rural development.

Although there may be slightly more sub-disciplines (areas of specialisation) in some applications worldwide, taking into account the current conditions in our country and previously existing similar research topics, they have been grouped under four main headings:

Land and Water Resources
Agricultural Energy Systems
Agricultural Machinery Systems
Agricultural Structures


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