June 23, 2021
CAIN WINS:
Robot farmers could improve jobs and help fight climate change - if they're developed responsibly (David Rose, Marc Hanheide & Simon Pearson, 6/23/21, The Conversation)
We are part of a project called Robot Highways, which is currently demonstrating multiple uses for autonomous robots made by Saga Robotics on a fruit farm in south-east England. Robots are now treating plant diseases in fields and glasshouses, and will be mapping terrain, picking, packing, and providing logistical support to workers over the course of the project. This is achieved by attaching different tools to an autonomous "base robot".In this way, autonomous farming robots have the potential to do some of the laborious agricultural work for which farmers in some countries often struggle to find employees at a cost that keeps food prices competitive. Our project has produced an estimate that robots may eventually help reduce the number of human farm workers needed by up to 40%.
Posted by Orrin Judd at June 23, 2021 12:00 AM
