AI Robotics and Automation

Robotics and automation in agriculture involve machines and automated systems performing tasks traditionally done by human labor. The range spans from planting and harvesting to monitoring and sorting crops.

It interconnects with nearly all the other agriculture tech trends listed. The overarching movement is toward combining AI automation with other innovations to advance sustainability and increase the productivity of food production systems.

Example applications: 

The examples below highlight just a few of the seemingly endless ways AI robotics and automation can transform and optimize farming and agricultural processes.

• Precise harvesters: Harvesting robots with vision AI systems can detect when a fruit or vegetable is ready to be picked—and pick it, too.
• Rose stem cutter: OEM machine builder ISO and vision AI platform developer Robovision partnered to create a rose stem cutter that uses 3D deep learning to automate the precise pruning of rose stems to optimize the propagation process.
• Tulip bulb planter: The same partnership also created a tulip bulb planter that automates the sorting and planting of tulip bulbs to combat labor shortages in the Netherlands. This innovation is now used to produce half of the global production of tulips.
• Robotic weeders: EarthRover developed a combination crop monitoring and weed detection system: a mobile robot that can identify and “zap” weeds at the root without harming crops.

Since food production must increase to meet the demands of a growing population, 2025 will see robotics and AI automation play a key role. These systems can scale with production and essentially future-proof the industry.