Robots in Agriculture: Feeding the World with Automation

Most people understand and acknowledge the importance of modern agricultural practices, but only some understand the amount of effort and coordination that goes into running agrarian enterprises. Mechanised tools are in charge of undertaking a large chunk of the “heavy lifting,” but these pieces of equipment can only serve farmers when they are semi or fully automated to improve efficiency. Let’s learn more about how technology developed for other industries is helping farmers automate their activities.

Irrigation Automation Technology

Water is an essential aspect of farming. If you have too little water, crops die out, and survivors fail to meet quality and nutritional standards. Ironically, too much water can be more dangerous to farmers, as evidenced by flash floods and “el-nino” weather occurrences. Many industrial farmers have thousands of hectares of land to cultivate, monitor, and harvest. Labour cost is one of the most significant costs farmers face. Unfortunately, there are more farm-related job openings that (legal) people are willing to fill them. Irrigation can make or break a farm. That’s why irrigation automation technologies were among the first to gain widespread acclaim in the agricultural ecosystem.

Rainwater no longer plays a significant role in irrigation on large farms because of its unpredictability. Farmers often source water “offsite” or access groundwater. Automation technologies can help control the amount of water used and shut the pipes on and off based on preset values. Similar technologies are used by online casinos and gaming services like the Syndicate Casino , to name one . Players can set “stop losses” and “take profits” that automatically remove them from games when preset levels are achieved. Agricultural technologies are changing lives, on and off the farm.

Employee Efficiency

When most people hear about automation and mechanisation, they think about workers being replaced by machines and fancy algorithms. This is not the reality because human labour remains an essential part of farming; there are tasks too complicated and specialised for machines to effectively carry out. Some farmers are forced to stick with a sizable workforce because farm equipment prices are incredible and unsustainable. Humans can only harvest certain crops because no harvester has been proven to harvest these crops effectively without damaging other sensitive plants and crops. Humans remain essential in the ecosystem, so smart farmers turn to automation technologies to help improve employee efficiency.

Many farms employ or contract hundreds or thousands of full and part-time employees (especially during peak periods). Work is sometimes round the clock, and controlling all the moving pieces can be a hassle. Automation can help with task assignment, scheduling, and recruitment. When ten workers call in sick, an automated system can find the best possible replacements for these people or the best way to reassign tasks to available employees without messing with the balance in the workplace. Human resources work that used to take hours of the day can now be done automatically in minutes.

Sensors

You might be surprised at how impressive and impactful sensors are. There are sensors that take real-time readings of your soil, water, crops, air quality, and more. When these sensors notice an issue or deficiency, they can automatically adjust levels or notify the farmer of what needs to be changed. A sensor tracking soil acidity can detect changes in acidity levels and then send a report to the farmer to tweak their fertiliser proportions or switch to a new product or brand. Automation helps remove much of the brunt of work, leaving time for farmers to focus on things that matter, like family time and working on their plots.

Small and medium-sized farms often use sensors that report changes and deficiencies to farmers, while larger farms can afford inter-connected systems that can take action without human input.

Sorting

Sorting is an activity that desperately needs automation. You might think that sorting is done on “relatively larger” items like potatoes, corn, and wheat. It’s fairly straightforward to sort large, medium, and small potatoes. Automated sorting machines help with the smallest items by sorting produce into categories that may not be apparent to the human eye. If you need to sort a batch of peas into 1mm groups, most humans cannot accurately carry out such activities at the rate and speed required.

Automating this part of the agricultural workflow means that workers can separate and classify products better with minimal mistakes and at faster rates. It is a win-win situation for everyone involved. Workers get much-needed help with their jobs, farms churn out more fresh products quickly, and consumers can access the produce they need quicker and with more certainty. Automation can remove most of the guessing involved in farming.

Revolutionising Agriculture With Automation

Few industries need new technologies more than agriculture. This sector fuels the global economy, and all actions must be taken to make food more accessible at the right price. People need to stop associating automation and new technologies with job cuts and losses, while these technologies are for the good of humanity.