Fields of gold

The world’s rapidly growing population brings new challenges for global food security. To meet the future demand for more, cheaper and better quality food, improvements to current agricultural practices are required. Agricultural robotics is one promising technology.

Robots, machines and systems have proved their worth in manufacturing, rapidly achieving intelligence and autonomy, mastering more and more capabilities such as mobility and manipulation, sensing and perception, reasoning and decision making. So what can they do for food production?

The 13th International Conference on Intelligent Autonomous Systems (IAS) will feature a workshop from scientists at the Lincoln Centre for Autonomous Systems (L-CAS), aiming to bring together academic and industrial communities to discuss recent advances in robotic applications for agriculture and horticulture.

Dr Grzegorz Cielniak, senior lecturer in the School of Computer Science, said: "Recent examples have shown agricultural robotics autonomously performing a number of different agricultural tasks, from monitoring soil and crop properties and harvesting fruit in orchards, to mechanical weeders eliminating the need for herbicides to produce affordable, safer food. Using teams of small specialised agricultural robots, instead of the currently used heavy machinery, can result in lower soil compaction, leading to energy savings. The number of potential new applications is enormous.”

Projects involving L-CAS include a 12-month feasibility study, funded by a £132,000 grant from the Technology Strategy Board, to create a system of laser sensors to control agricultural sprayers more accurately. Other tasks include the creation of new multi-purpose imaging technology to undertake quality inspection tasks in the food industry; automatic identification of potato blemishes and improvements in the seal integrity of heat-sealed packaging.

Meanwhile, insects have traditionally been seen as the enemy of crop production, but the tables may be about to be turned, according to another conference which was held in May in the Netherlands. Insects to Feed the World presented research, and policy discussion about insects as a future food and animal feed source, showing huge international potential. The conference was organised by Wageningen University in collaboration with the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

Perhaps robotic insects could be used to pollenate the fields of barley, before voluntarily surrendering themselves for dessert? I digest....

* 13th International Conference on Intelligent Autonomous Systems (IAS-13), Padova, Italy, 15-19 July 2014.

* Insects to Feed the World, Wageningen University, 15-17 May 2014