Labour shortage is going to be history in agriculture. The technological developments happening in the field of farming will ensure this. Tomorrow you might see robots everywhere doing harvesting of crops and cultivating fields. But does this make sense?Can robots replace human workforce in agriculture?
Soon this is going to be the reality. Globally robots in various sectors covering military, industry, and healthcare are live examples of what robots can offer in terms of efficiency and productivity. The developing countries over the years have seen the drastic decline in labor availability in farming. The trend has gained pace over the last 100 years.
With the world population estimated to reach over 11.2 billion by 2100, agriculture needs to be geared up to meet the demands. To tackle this scenario, farmers may need robots to help feed the growing world population.
Here is a collation of 5 agri robots which are at various stages of the experiment and will be ready to revolutionize farming in the years to come.
1. Aterix – A project funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme. This agri robot makes weeding and herbicide application simple and accurate. The interesting part is that herbicides are applied only on the weed and not on the main crop or soil.
Source: http://www.adigo.no/portfolio/asterix/?lang=en
2. Spray Robot – Developed by Holland Green Machine is an automatic setup used for spraying in greenhouse farming. The robot runs on batteries and is used in rose, pepper, cucumber and tomato farming.
Source: http://www.hollandgreenmachine.com/sprayrobot/
3. OZ Weeding Robot – An agri robot designed by Naio Technologies completely replaces human labor during weeding. The OZ is a completely autonomous and designed to improve the conditions of human workforce.
Source: http://www.naio-technologies.com/en/agricultural-equipment/weeding-robot-oz/
4. Rowbot – Designed and developed by three brothers – Charlie Bares, Cavender Bares, and John Baresis. The rowbot helps corn growers in applying fertilizer as per the plant requirement. Rowbot helps corn growers in applying fertilizer in alignment to the plant requirement.
5. Hamster Bot – A technological marvel in agriculture science developed by a team from Universidad Politécnica de Madrid. This is a rolling robot with sensors which are used to collect information in cropping fields without affecting the plant. The rolling robot collects information such as – plant health, soil temperature, moisture, and nutrient content.
Agriculture is all set to get revolutionized, with increasing investments, a true shift in strategy surrounding robotics is clearly visible. An entrepreneurial approach is set to change the way farming is done in future.