Daniel the humanoid-shaped farmer is about to begin literal 'field trials'
The robot has been developed by the University of Plymouth
Last updated 21st Jul 2026
The first humanoid-shaped robot farmer is about to be trialled, called Daniel.
The robots, eventually costing around £4,000 each once sold, are filled with sensors and will spend their time walking around farms analysing how to make them more productive.
Jake Shaw-Sutton, a lecturer in Applied Robotics, said: "I think the big advantage is by having these autonomous robots they can be out in the field continuously.
"You can leave them going scanning, mapping that environment and giving you real-time data back so you don't have to physically be there - but you can get all the information as if you were there."
The University of Plymouth's robotics department has been exploring how to use machines to help farmers make better decisions, previously releasing 'robot dogs'.
Mr Shaw-Sutton, who created Robotriks in Parr, believes farmers will be interested, reflecting: "You can see what's changing, not just minute by minute and hour by hour but on a macro level. to really understand when are diseases propagating, where are these bad chemicals coming into the soil and what's actually is influencing the crop growth."
Daniel is expected to start field trials later this year.
"All of the robots we train them on virtual environments, so before we ever put them out into the field we first basically teach it how to walk, how to navigate over complex terrain and how to move with its limbs," said the lecturer.
"Once we get it to a point where the system has learnt the dynamics of itself we let it loose into the wild and actually see how it does respond."
There's more about the robots here