Most of the farmers are responding to worsening labor shortage in farms shortage by turning to automated planting and harvesting equipment and some other advanced technologies that are capable of performing tasks such as planting, pruning, seeding, harvesting and weeding. On the other hand, farm robotics start-ups are coming up rapidly, making it a captivating segment within the agrifood technology sector. This is because these robots are not only fascinating to watch, but also the issues they solve which are pressing, such as the rising cost and scarcity of labor.
As fields like artificial intelligence and computer vision technologies are growing, so is robotics in agricultural sector. These developments are resulting into new level of automation. These days, in the industrial environment, robots are appealing to several different industries. This is because its helping in easing the labor concerns, especially for the ageing workforce – this creates higher potential in efficiency of labor per agricultural field. These are global concerns – especially in the U.S and Europe. Robots are increasing the need of precision agriculture and the limitations caused by new chemicals and sustainable farming standards.
In California and some parts of Florida, robotic harvesting vehicles are already deployed in fields to pick strawberries. This replaces the labor-intensive tasks that would have normally been performed by dozens of farm workers. For instance, in California, where there is large agricultural region which boasts of $45 billion agricultural industry plunged due to labor shortage. Moreover, robotic machinery is being tested to harvest crops like apples. Even better, scientists are putting efforts to develop small agricultural field robot which can attack weeds and take care of other farm activities.
Some of the large farming companies guiding technology firms to develop robotic solutions. They do so by becoming strategic investors most of the times in the respective technology firms and by adequately participating in comprehensive testing of the next-generation farm equipment. As processor speeds are developed and enhanced, so are the robotics tools – making them more practical and cost-effective. Farmers using robots and other similar form of mechanization are better positioned in terms of competition, which makes them more relevant in the industry.
Cobots, which assist milking of cows and herding, are changing agriculture beyond recognition. Further, the food industry is also revolutionized by robotics and full automation of farm equipment. It is estimated that the market share for robots and drones is going to hit $40 billion in the next few years. There are real problems in modern farming. The traditional agriculture cannot keep pace, an it is struggling to keep up with the efficiencies that the market demands. Advanced sensing and the use of robotics is causing market disruption and solving the inefficiencies that are caused by the traditional methods of farming.
Role of Robots in the Agricultural Industry
Nursery Planting
Nursery is the place where seeds are bred into a young plant, which would be planted later outside. This is the start of the food journey. Nursery plants can be sold directly to gardeners and consumers. Nursery automation solution has been happening progressively. It includes, potting, seeding, and warehousing living plants in the greenhouse.
Crop Seeding
The traditional method of seeding was through scattering them using a broadcast spreader that is attached to a tractor. The spreader throws seeds while the tractor moves at a steady speed – this is not an efficient way of seeding due to high wastage of seeds. The autonomous precision seeding is a combination of both the geomaping technology and robotics. Using a map that is generated and shows all the soil properties at all the corners of the field, the tractor which is attached to a robotic seeding tool, places seeds at precise locations and depths.
Crop Monitoring and Analysis
Monitoring large sized fields of crop is a not a joke. New sensors and geomapping technologies relying on GIS and GPS allow growers to get data about properties of their crops than before. Robotic hardware is equipped with such analysis software. Robots provide a way to collect such data autonomously since they can get closer to the crops.
Fertilizing and Irrigation
Traditionally, irrigating and fertilizing of crops has been using a lot of water which is very inefficient. Robot-Assisted Precision Irrigation reduces the rate of water wastage by targeting specific crops in need of such water or fertilizer. Ground robots can autonomously navigate through the rows of crop and apply water directly at the base of each and every crop. Robots can also reach areas where other machines cannot.
Crop Weeding and Spraying
Spraying insecticides and pesticides are not only wasteful but also harmful to the environment. Robots are efficient tools for such applications which increases sustainability. Robots use the concept of micro-spraying; applying the chemicals precisely to the needed place. Some robots, such as RoboCrop can uproot weeds instead of applying weed killers.
Thinning and Pruning
Thinning is the act of reducing crop density so that each gets a better chance of growing while pruning is the cutting of the back parts of plants to improve growth. The LettuceBot, is a thinning robot which uses computer vision to identify lettuce plants and artificially decides which plants to keep and which to do away with. This complex problem was solved by robots, saving growers time and input cost involved with such activities.
Autonomous Tractors
There is rising trends in the use of such tractors which are driverless. These robots are designed to follow human driving and patterns to perform farming activities.
Other application areas of robots
- Picking and Harvesting
- Shepherding and Herding
- Milking