How Robotics is Transforming Agriculture

In Washington’s Palouse region, fifth-generation farmer Andrew Nelson is running a 7,500-acre wheat farm while on Zoom calls. His tractor drives itself, guided by AI, sensors, and cameras that decide where to fertilize, spray, or weed. This isn’t an isolated story. Farming is entering a new era: 🚜 Autonomous tractors & sprayers from companies like Deere and Monarch are cutting herbicide use by up to 66%. 🚜 Robotic fruit pickers & drones (Oishii’s Tortuga robot, Tevel’s flying harvesters) are easing labor shortages. 🚜 Data-driven “digital twins” of farms are helping farmers target irrigation and pest control with precision. 🚜 Virtual fencing is changing livestock management with GPS-enabled collars. The goal? Smarter, more sustainable farming—optimizing every drop of water and every seed, while letting farmers focus on strategy, not hours in the cab. As Microsoft’s Ranveer Chandra puts it, “Every time a drone flies or a tractor plants, it’s updating the farm’s own AI model.” The autonomous farm won’t replace farmers—it will amplify them. And it’s happening faster than you think. Read more: https://lnkd.in/eEeW7zef

Even before the full impact of President Trump’s immigration policies is known, it is apparent that the agriculture sector, particularly the more labor-intensive specialty and permanent crop sectors, is rapidly moving toward adopting more automation & robotics and digital technologies. Evidence of this is Jackie Snow’s recent The Wall Street Journal article “AI Comes to the Apple Orchard—From Pollinating to Picking”. The article discusses how Apple orchards, which have always relied on human workers and bees, have started using robots to automate various processes. Furthermore, a growing number of companies have developed and validated new technologies, including specialized robots and automation for each stage of apple production, from pollinating the trees to fertilizing them, pruning them and harvesting the fruit. This change is happening throughout the whole specialty and permanent crop sector, which has lagged behind row crops in adoption of automation & robotics due to layout, spacing, and fragility of the crops. However, labor availability, costs and turnover are making automation & robotics a necessity for long-term survival. For some time now, I have discussed how low-skill, low-cost labor no longer exists, especially in places like my home state of California, where businesses are struggling to pay the minimum wage, while keeping down costs. The only way for growers to remain economically viable is to adopt automation & robotics and digital technologies. https://lnkd.in/gMbjVysz EcoTech Capital Cy Obert AgTech Alchemy #agtech; #digitalagriculture; #ai; #robotics; #automation; #precisionagriculture; #sustainableag

"Viticulture" is a new word I learned for today's episode; it means harvesting grapes for wine. And, now, there are new robots that can detect when a grape is perfect for harvesting and gently harvest it from the vine! Cool. 🍇 THE INNOVATION • Queen Mary University of London and Extend Robotics have developed a groundbreaking robotic system for harvesting premium wine grapes (often valued at over $6,000 per tonne). • The system combines spectroscopic analysis for ripeness assessment with pressure-sensitive mechanical manipulation, addressing the unique challenges of handling delicate, expensive wine grapes. • This development represents a significant advancement in agricultural automation, particularly for crops requiring gentle handling (not *just* expensive grapes... although it's a sensible place to start). 🤖 THE MACHINE LEARNING • The system uses transmitted light analysis to determine grape composition and assess sugar content as a ripeness indicator. • A machine learning model filters complex spectral data, isolating relevant ripeness signatures from environmental noise. • The current implementation employs Meta's Quest 3 headset for human-in-the-loop control via virtual reality interface (which also allows the researchers to collect invaluable training data for future, better ML models). 📈 IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGY • The system is being tested at Saffron Grange, a British sparkling-wine vineyard, with a designated control area for robot operation. • The project leverages global time zones, enabling Australian operators to control robots during UK nighttime hours for 24/7 harvesting (thereby reducing costs by keeping harvesting equipment in constant use). • A static monitoring system using spectroscopic sensors is being developed for continuous vineyard monitoring, including disease detection and harvest timing optimization. 🌟 FUTURE IMPLICATIONS • The technology could eventually eliminate labor shortage issues through fully autonomous robotics. • This project provides valuable insights for precision agriculture applications beyond viticulture... with the ultimate goal of scaling up agricultural robotics to enhance global food security and nutrition access. Listen to today's episode for more detail on all of the above! The "Super Data Science Podcast with Jon Krohn" is available on all major podcasting platforms and a video version is on YouTube. This is Episode #840 :) #superdatascience #machinelearning #ai #robotics #viticulture #wine

The Future of Farming is Here! In our latest episode, “Farm-ng & L5 Robotics: Small-Scale Robotics and Autonomous Harvesting Innovations,” I had the pleasure of speaking with Nathan Dorn, VP of Business Development of Farm-ng, and Alexander Gutierrez, CEO of L5 Automation Inc, about the cutting-edge advancements shaping the future of agriculture. Nathan shared how Farm-ng’s small, electric robotic tractors are revolutionizing farming—enhancing data collection, weeding, and harvesting while also providing hands-on learning opportunities for students and researchers. Alex introduced L5 Robotics' autonomous harvesting systems designed to tackle labor shortages in strawberry production, improving efficiency and sustainability in one of the most labor-intensive crops. Key Takeaways: ✅ Farm-ng’s open-source robotics empowering farmers and educators ✅ L5 Robotics’ autonomous harvesting – a game-changer for labor efficiency ✅ Tackling scalability and cost challenges in ag robotics ✅ How robotics and sustainability are shaping the future of food systems The potential of robotics in agriculture goes far beyond automation—it’s about empowering farmers, improving sustainability, and ensuring a resilient food system for the future. International Fresh Produce Association Thanks to ProducePay for sponsoring. #AgTech #Robotics #SustainableFarming #Innovation #FutureOfFood s