Robotics in Sustainable Agriculture: Addressing Environmental Issues through Precision Technology

Source: https://www.precisionfarmingdealer.com/articles/6299-the-role-of-robotics-in-revolutionizing-agriculture

Conventional agriculture is plagued by severe environmental issues that threaten the long-term sustainability of world food production systems. Some of the most dangerous include soil erosion, chemical pesticide and fertilizer unavailability, water scarcity, and greenhouse emission by farm equipment. Exponentially increasing global food demand and climate change make the problems even worse. To address these pressing needs, farmers, scientists, and engineers in tech turn to precision agriculture and robots as the answer to changing the process of how food is sown, grown, and harvested. Precision agriculture, driven by robots and decision-making power fueled by data, looks very bright on the horizon.

Instead of the traditional approach of applying pesticides, fertilizers, and water to fields as a whole, precision agriculture uses sensors, artificial intelligence, and automation to apply individualized treatment to patches of land or plants based on their requirements. Automated treatments can be administered with little human involvement, with optimal efficiency and reduced environmental impact. Sensor networks and drones are also in the lead of the process, providing real-time feedback on soil health, plant growth, infestation by pests, and soil condition. Several advanced robotic technologies already have a measurable effect.

Automatic weeding robots such as Ecorobotix by means of computer vision utilize cameras to detect weeds and destroy them with laser accuracy, significantly reducing herbicide use. Similarly, accurate seed robots sow at optimum distance and depth to promote plant health and yields. Land rovers and flying drones regularly monitor data to scan for plant disease, diagnose nutrient deficiency, and regulate irrigation. Machine learning-based harvest robots will selectively harvest delicate fruits and veggies with absolute zero damage, reducing labor and post-harvest wastage. All of these technologies directly contribute to environmental sustainability. Less use of chemicals—precision spraying and dispensing—lessens the toxic chemical runoff on the land and in the water. Water saving is achieved with advanced plant and soil sensors watering only when and where necessary. Fewer emissions are also achieved with electric or solar-powered robots taking the place of diesel-powered tractors and sprayers, and can significantly reduce the carbon footprint of agriculture.

But there are drawbacks of implementing robotics in agriculture. Firstly, heavy and cumbersome robotic farming equipment compact the soil, hence ruining soil structure, aeration, and root growth. Another drawback is the use of lithium batteries across most of the robot equipment, which emit poisonous chemicals into the environment when disposed of improperly.

Apart from the environmental issue, access and equity are a top priority. New robotic technologies are too costly or too technologically intensive for small-scale or remote farmers to adopt. This would further increase the gap between agribusiness corporations and smallholder farms. What is required to be created are modular, flexible, and open-source robotic systems—technology that can be tailored to various scales of farms, ecosystems, and economic circumstances.

Future farm robots will need to be more enablers of regenerative agriculture, a type that attempts to regenerate the soil fertility, biodiversity, and resilience of the community.

This will mean developing lighter, modular-type robots with minimal soil disturbance and more advanced AI systems that learn from the natural system and can learn to adapt to it in the long term. There also must be compatibility with regenerative strategies such as cover cropping, rotational grazing, and low-till agriculture. In this future era, farm robotics must go beyond productivity and efficiency to support ecosystems restoration and just food systems. Precision agriculture robotics overall has a vast amount of potential to assist in the resolution of the environmental and economic challenges of the farm of today.

By enabling better allocation of resources in an informed manner, reducing pollution, and boosting yield, the technologies support a greener future capable of sustaining an ever-increasing population. To reach their full potential, robotic systems must become more environmentally sustainable, economically viable, and ecologically friendly—facilitating not only productivity but also prosperity and planetary health.