In the future, automated robots much like this prototype will be dispatched to water, fertilize, and weed fields.
The age of agricultural robotics
arrived years ago. Drones routinely hover over fields, collecting visual
data, and high-tech tractors can now harvest crops without a human
driver.
But it’s a mob of autonomous, palm-size machines, which roboticists
call “the swarm,” that promises to truly revolutionize food production.
Small and nimble, these solar-powered robots
(above) will
eventually be able to tend individual plants without wasting resources
or leaving large environmental footprints, says Magnus Egerstedt, a
roboticist at the Georgia Institute of Technology,
who is currently researching mechanisms for controlling and directing
the swarms. “By being more targeted, by only applying fertilizer where
needed, you’re going to get better crops and save money,” notes
Egerstedt, who believes the swarms of the future will one day work as
constant gardeners, caring for crops daily over their life cycle.
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