Penetration of Agriculture Robots in Various Countries

Advancing technologies and changing online landscape i.e. IoT, cloud based solutions, AI, machine learning and laser technologies, are largely driving the global crop maintenance robots market.

As the rich & developed countries who have high score in automation readiness such as adoption of autonomous vehicles, the developing countries are taking steps towards advance & automated farming. Adoption of automated farming tends to run by mobile & other devices which could wash away the tag of most labor-intensive sector of an economy. Like industrialization, mechanization could profoundly change the agriculture in near future. Global smart agriculture market is thus expanding at a CAGR of 28.28% during 2016-2024. Although this shift in trend will change the way the food is grown & consumed across the world, but the developing world will be most impacted, as the major share of arable land is acquired by subsistence farming. Furthermore, the advanced technologies such as IOT, AI & machine learning are gradually being developed as per the agricultural requirements & successful implementation of agriculture robots. Global IoT in agriculture market is witnessing huge investments in R&D function from across the world and thus the market is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of 28.30% during 2016-2024.

China Agriculture Sector

China is taking bigger steps to include agriculture robots across their country, starting from replacing farmers with robots under the launch of 7 years pilot program. This includes rice transplanters, unmanned tractor, pesticide applicators and others.  These technology in present scenario has limited use across the region but with this program the adoption is anticipated to swell up in the country. Moreover the polluting & unproductive farms in China will not only get modernized and but also help in eliminating the loss of productivity in agriculture sector due to increasing aging workforce. Even without the automation, the share of total population involved in farming has dropped from 55% people in 1991 to only 18% in 2017. Such decreasing numbers in agriculture population is one the major driving factor in the adoption of agriculture robots.

Russian Agriculture Sector

Russia crop production is by large impacted by the global restrictions, diminishing of farms, slow intensification and neglected farmlands. To solve such farm & agriculture problems in Russia, FAO proposes to consider the crop intensification used as a strategy for sustainable production by achieving better crop yield from the same land, with reduced negative impact on the environment.

The Russian agriculture sector is witnessed to be using the machines with multi-functional chassis, foreign and domestic autonomous operation system models, unmanned aerial vehicles and special vehicles. Moreover there is adoption of interactive map technology, which uses RFID systems, ultrasonic positioning, infrared and laser-guiding in order to eliminate the use of satellite positioning system technology, due to its disadvantages, such as issues with the GPS quality of land coverage. The examples of robotic devices used in Russia are multifunctional chassis (Spirit, Cleorpath Robotics, Lynex, Hortibat ect..); autonomous systems (Autonomous Tractor, Kinze Manufacturing ect.); harvesters (Argobot, Energid, Romobility Yoto ect..); specialized vehicles (VIM-ELEC 2.0, BoniRob, HortiBot, Vibro Crop Robottii, Prospero, Spider Mini etc.); unmanned aerial vehicles (Agribatix, SenseFly, Precision Howk etc.).

 

Australia Agriculture Sector: Application of Advance Equipment

Using machines to increase productivity is not new in Australian primary industries, with many industries being mechanized along the supply chain. The changing nature of agricultural land and the environment , necessity of a system capable to respond  all information related to soil, farm and crop in order achieve higher productivity and quality output are boosting  precision agriculture market in Australia.

 As per Rice Research Australia Pty Ltd. robotic tractors will be operating commercially in Australia within 10 to 15 years, but some adjustments will be required before they become a standard feature on farms. The next step will be to improve the tractor’s ability to better respond to remote safety sensors. Robotic tractors will be ideal for crop monitoring using the latest imaging devices. Once these robotic tractors hit the fields, its high adoption in rice industry is expected to be seen. Moreover, robotic tractors guided by GPS (via satellites) remove a major barrier to adoption for farmers in areas with limited mobile phone services

SwarmFarm Robotics in Australia has demonstrated three autonomous robots that work cooperatively to undertake weed control on a wheat farm near Emerald in Queensland. Queensland University of Technology believes robots could reduce the weed management costs, such as energy, labour and chemicals, by up to 90%. The next step in robotic technology in field crops is to develop robots for fertilising, thinning and harvesting. Robotic tractors will be important members of the farm workforce in grain growing areas in 10�"15 years’ time. As well as filling labour shortages, robotic tractors will collect data on crop growth and conditions to assist crop management decisions and improve farm productivity. Labor shortage in Australia was experienced back in 2010 after the break of drought.

Robotics in Mexican agriculture

The rise in population in the country is doing indispensable automation of agriculture in order to feed a growing population with a workforce that has migrated to the cities and the United States. Agricultural mechanization is the only way to dramatically increase productivity, being that in the 21^st century is to be applied at the highest level, automation and robotics. Mexico stands at disadvantage position than the neighboring countries such as Brazil, Argentina and Chile who have already started research in this segment of robotics. Young Mexicans are taking the first steps to end the technological dependence of the country in the area of robotics, as they have emerged triumphant in international competitions and are focusing on new areas such as aerial robotics, animatronics and artificial intelligence. Lack of young farmers has increased the need of robotics such as lack of people capable of climbing palms which requires of a robot for harvesting coconuts fruits. 

A group of students at the Technological Institute of Querétaro created the prototype of a robotic solar vehicle that improves the sowing and reforestation works through programming trajectories. The robotic car was designed with a mechanism that can plow the crop field and thus speed up the process. This robot can be used on agricultural land, because it can make planting processes efficient, the vehicle can be used automatically.

Robotics in Brazil agriculture

In Brazil the core of the agricultural robotics group was born in 1999 in an Embrapa research project from the need to develop vehicles to support research in the agricultural environment. Advancing technologies and changing online landscape i.e. IoT (Internet of Things), cloud based solutions, artificial intelligence, machine learning and laser technologies, are largely driving the growth of global crop maintenance robots market and Brazil is no exception to it.

Held in Brazil, a study shows the application of robotics in Brazil agriculture has huge potential and it is not yet explored and thus immense possibility of the robot application for carrying out remote sensing in agricultural environments is viable. Major international robotic companies have established their units in Brazil such as ABB, Boveri, FANUC, KUKA, Mitsubishi, and Siemens who have strong presence in the country. With giant area under population and huge support from government & private bodies in the research & development activities, Brazil stands as the next emerging country among the BRICS nations in terms of both advance agricultural practices and economic development.