Robotics in agriculture: robotics: types and applications

Robotics in agriculture. Agriculture is fast becoming an exciting high-tech industry, attracting new professionals, new companies and new investors. Technology is rapidly advancing, not only the production capabilities of farmers, but also robotics and automation technology as we know it.

At the heart of this phenomenon is the need for significantly increased production yields. The UN estimates that the world population will grow from 7.3 billion today to 9.7 billion by 2050. The world will need much more food, and farmers will be under severe pressure to keep up with demand.

Agricultural robots are increasing farmers’ production yields in a variety of ways. From drones to autonomous tractors to robotic arms, the technology is being used in creative and innovative applications.

Applications of agricultural robots

Agricultural robots automate slow, repetitive and tedious tasks for farmers, allowing them to focus more on improving overall production yields. Some of the most commonly used robots in agriculture include:

• Harvesting and harvesting
• Growth control
• Autonomous mowing, pruning, seeding, spraying and thinning.
• Photo identification
• Picking and packing
• Useful platforms

Harvesting and picking is one of the most popular robotic applications in agriculture, as robots can improve crop size and reduce waste from crops left in the field through their accuracy and speed.

But these applications can be difficult to automate. For example, a robotic system designed to pick peppers faces many obstacles. Vision systems must determine the location and maturity of peppers under difficult conditions, including the presence of dust, changing light intensity, temperature fluctuations and wind-induced movement.

However, picking peppers still requires more than advanced vision systems. The robotic arm must navigate an environment with just as many obstacles to gently grasp and place a pepper. This process is very different from picking up and placing a metal part on an assembly line. An agricultural robotic arm must be flexible in the dynamic environment and precise enough to avoid damaging the pepper during picking.

Harvesting and picking robots are becoming increasingly popular with farmers, but the agricultural industry is also using robotic automation in dozens of other innovative ways to improve production yields.

The demand for food is outstripping the amount of available farmland, and it’s up to farmers to make up the shortfall. Agricultural robots are helping them do just that.

Agriculture is fast becoming a high-tech business. To learn more about the emerging robotics industry, join companies like Amazon, Microsoft and GM at the annual A3 Business Forum to connect with leaders in the automation industry.

Source: https://www.automate.org/blogs/robotics-in-agriculture-types-and-applications