Despite challenges, agriculture remains an appealing sector for robotics applications.
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In recent decades, agri-tech companies have been investing in this sector. Among them is Grimstad’s Saga Robotics ….
Its flagship product is Thorvald, an electric, self-driving robot used in strawberry fields and vineyards. The arch-shaped machine is built out of modules and is deployed at night to treat the common and destructive plant disease of powdery mildew.
… Thorvald can also predict crop yield. “We use AI to find the strawberries in the images that the robot captures, and we use an AI to assess the ripeness of the fruit.”
Similar challenges and opportunities can be found in another agricultural frontier: space.
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For now, astronauts are capable of growing a few types of plants on the International Space Station, but to sustain a permanent presence on the Moon and long exploration missions, for example to Mars, they will need to grow more food.
Cesare Lobascio, an expert in space exploration …, explained that once space agriculture becomes more advanced—with plants growing directly on planetary surfaces—robots will take over the agricultural work.
