Robot human-sized 'farmers' being developed, following success of robot farming 'dogs'
The first humanoid protoype could be ready by next Summer
Work's underway to build the first ever full-sized ‘robotic farmer’, which the team behind it say 'will be a tool, not a replacement for people'.
It's thought the first prototype humanoid machines could be built by May next year.
Jake Shaw-Sutton, who created Robotriks in Parr and is also a lecturer in applied robotics at the University of Plymouth, has already made 'robotic dogs' to help with things like soil testing and sampling.
He said: "Over the past few years we've been deploying robots over farms, all with a custom system that recognises half a million different plant, animal and insect species to really create that whole map of 'what is the health of the landscape above the ground and below the ground?'
"Part of that trial was really testing whether legged-robots are a feasible way of deploying these. That trial has actually been successful, legged-robots they are not just feasible but the technology is there where we can take that a step further.
"Rather than creating our small quadrupeds, or robotic dogs, we are now moving into the full design and build of a full height humanoid.
"That humanoid will be carrying the same sensors being able to navigate around on farms and actually interact with gates, handles and more difficult areas that have been designed just for people to go through.
"I would say they are still robotic ‘handlers’ as a posed to ‘farmers’ as they are ones that you can send out to do tasks that otherwise wouldn't be completed, because at the end of the day every robot - no matter how sophisticated it is - it's just a tool.
"It's like an electric screwdriver for a carpenter as it's down to how you choose to use that in where the actual benefit comes from.
"We are just trying to push the technology ahead and ensure all of it remains open source so it's accessible to absolutely anyone."