Agriculture, an activity as old as humanity, is undergoing a radical transformation thanks to the incorporation of robotic technology. These mechanical devices are ceasing to be a futuristic vision to become indispensable tools in agricultural fields around the world.
Public domain image taken from Flickr
The applications of robotics in agriculture are becoming more diverse and sophisticated, from basic tasks such as planting and harvesting to more complex functions such as crop monitoring and pesticide application, robots are optimizing agricultural processes and increasing productivity. Among the agronomic activities that a robot could possibly perform are the following:
Precise sowing: Robots can sow seeds at an exact depth and distance, ensuring an even distribution just like some mechanical seed drills, maximizing crop yields.
Selective Harvesting: Equipped with advanced sensors, the robots can identify and harvest ripe fruits and vegetables, avoiding damage and reducing waste.
Monitoring: Agricultural drones and ground-based robots can inspect crops on a regular basis, detecting pests, diseases and nutritional deficiencies in time to take corrective measures.
Precise application of plant protection products: Robots could apply pesticides and fertilizers in a localized and precise way, which can reduce the environmental impact with the traces of toxins in the ecosystem, which could also reduce production costs.
Data analysis: Robots could generate large amounts of data that can be analyzed to optimize agricultural practices and improve decision-making.
Public domain image taken from Flickr
The adoption of robotics in agriculture offers a number of advantages for both farmers and consumers, for example a robot could work 24/7 without rest, increasing productivity and reducing labor costs, obtain good quality products if they harvest accurately. in addition, the tasks performed by the robots could be more precise if they are exhaustively programmed with the methodology required in agronomic practices and supervised by a human trained in agronomic tasks.
Dear readers, despite the numerous benefits it could bring, the adoption of robotics in agriculture still faces some challenges, such as the high cost of equipment and the need to develop more sophisticated software and algorithms. However, it is expected that these challenges will possibly be overcome over the course of years, as technology advances and costs decrease.
The future of agriculture is linked to technology, and robots will play an increasingly important role in food production, the combination of artificial intelligence, robotics and precision agriculture will allow creating more sustainable, efficient and productive agricultural systems, ensuring food security for future generations and supervised by skilled human labor.
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Sources
- Photography and images: The images shown in the article are in the public domain, information that can be verified at the bottom of each photograph.
- Agrotecnia banner: made by the author @amestyj with own images
