fore. So far, these trials have been limited due to the cost of sampling. A robot on the other hand, can travel to hundreds of sampling sites each day and gather and store important data automatically: crop growth rates, nutrient status, the weather, the leaf area index. And if we get the chance to take these measurements on a daily basis, our understanding of crop development will move into a new phase.
When will we see robots in our fields?
Agricultural robots will happen – it’s inevitable. If the market wants them and the manufacturers are prepared to take this leap ahead, we will see agricultural robots running around in the fields very soon. If people do not invest in this technology, it will be many years away. I know of five autonomous tractors being developed in China at the moment. I don’t think there’s that many in the whole of Europe. If the Europeans want to retain their technological status and their manufacturing base in smart machines they have to move.
Precision is the key to efficient agriculture.