ASTUTE ANALYTICA
How harvesting robots are overcoming agriculture's labor shortages?
Robots are employed in the manufacture of automobiles, the sorting of items in warehouses, and, somewhat unsettlingly, the patrolling of our streets to keep us safe. But other tasks that seem incredibly simple in comparison are still beyond the capabilities of robots. similar to taking an apple off a tree. Robots can now help farmers harvest their crops and alleviate labor shortages due to recent improvements.
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Due to the rising demand for food security and the need to raise agricultural production to meet the demands of a growing global population, intelligent agriculture practices have become increasingly popular. Thus, it is predicted to boost the market growth. In addition, according to a research report by Astute Analytica, the Global Harvesting Robot Market is likely to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 21.8% over the projection period from 2023 to 2031.
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Technologies aid to reduce labor shortage:
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Laser zapping of weeds
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Pulling weeds by hand is possible, but it is unpleasant to work, and the agriculture sector is already facing severe labor shortages. The existence of robots that can laser-zap weeds is a blessing for farmers. In essence, the robot traverses the rows of crops by itself while scanning the ground using cameras. The robot's carbon dioxide lasers blast the plants after an AI-powered onboard computer recognizes them as weeds. More than 100,000 weeds may be removed by the Autonomous Weeder every hour. It can weed 15 to 20 acres of crops in a single day.
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Single tomato harvester
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This robot picks more slowly than the ordinary person, but it can work twice as long (16 hours as opposed to the typical 8 hours). As a result, one robot can replace one laborer for every acre of greenhouse space and harvest about 12,000 tomatoes every day. Most producers may recover the cost of their investment with national subsidies in one and a half years.
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Robotic strawberry pickers
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The fact that picking strawberries requires the worker to spend the majority of the day stooped over is another problem. The difficulty in finding persons willing to perform this kind of labor is due to this. Fortunately, assistance in the shape of AI has arrived. Robots are being used in the fields of hydroponic farming, which can use up to 90% less water than conventional methods. They frolic through these fields and pluck luscious strawberries from the plants. They employ computer vision cameras to find the strawberry and decide whether it is ready for picking.
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Rubicon strawberry picker
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Farmers have been sluggish to accept autonomous options owing to logistics, but Rubicon strawberry picker possesses all of the skills listed above and more. The types of strawberries that farmers produce are frequently dictated by retailers, who base their choices on factors like fruit appearance and shelf life. Nobody has ever considered the effects of picking robots. It distinguishes itself from the competition by offering a novel remedy for a crucial problem that other strawberry harvesters face: the stem. Fruit must be wrapped with the stems looking up since most robotic pickers choose the stem rather than handling the fruit.
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Original Source
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