New Farming Robot Can Inspect 50-Acres Of Crops Per Day For Pests And Water Needs

Brefeco

Artificial intelligence and robotics have been breaking ground in every type of industry on the planet, so why not add farming to the mix? Although most people believe that robots are only used in factories, laboratories, and other types of manufacturing plants, farming is yet another industry in which robots can leave a mark.

Just take a look at this spoke-wheeled robot plant nurse whose main job is to look through 50-acres of row crops, checking for pests, disease, and other adverse issues to give a warning to the main farmer.

Kind of like a tumbleweed, the SentiV scouting robot is just a prototype at the moment, but the people behind this incredible specimen are hoping that the amount it takes to make each one can be offset with the funds that will come from saving on pesticides and fertilizers, since it’s built to figure out which plants need what.


While all factors of farming can be taxing and trying, plating is one of the most delicate periods since most of the costs go into the beginning while the yield and profits come after many months of waiting for the crops to sprout and be ready for harvest. Moreover, there are innumerable things that can go wrong during the time between planting and harvest, such as unexpected outbreaks of disease, pests that are eating up the crops, or even an overgrowth and spreading of weeds and other toxic growths.

In addition, having to manually inspect the crops doesn’t only take hours to complete, even airborne drones don’t have the ability to fully inspect the crops and the leaves, nor can they see under the leaves.

As a result, this 33-pound robot can solve all these issues since it uses spokes to move around instead of wheels, which tend to tread over the crops and plants and crush them. That way, farmers also have lessened costs and reduced labor to make up for.

The SentiV is programmed with the GPS coordinates of the plantation field’s boundaries, which it uses as a guide to go across the entire crop field, with the ability to cover up to 50 acres in one day. During that time, it can scan both the topside and underside of the plants using the pair of cameras attached to it.


Then, the smart algorithms on the robot look for possible threats, monitor the growth of the plants, and even identify the signs and symptoms that the plant may need more or less nutrients or water. Plus, the wheel height of the robot is even conveniently adjustable, making sure that the robot doesn’t accidentally damage the crops.

While the need for farmers, crops, and laborers to take care of these fields is something that may never go out of business, the way that farmers work their fields and the animals that help them may very well go through some major changes, all because of these smart robots that are being manufactured in every size to make labor and materials on farms less extensive and costly.

Incredibly, there is another robot called the sniper robot that has 50 nozzles that can spray weeds with de-weeder, and plants with fertilizer, at a rate of 20 shots per second. Moreover, there’s also a tractor robot that can plow a field all day, all night, all by itself.

See more about the SentiV and how it works in the video below.

 

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