Australia Plans First Completely Hands-Free Robot Farm

By Hortidaily

Australia’s Charles Sturt University (CSU) has announced plans to create a “hands-free” smart farm where robots will do all the work – no human laborers required, according to Hortidaily.

The challenge: The majority of the food we eat comes from farms, and as the population grows, so does the amount of food needed to feed it. However, there’s a lot of work that needs to be done around a farm, and many farmers are having trouble finding people to do it. Labor shortages have been a chronic problem in farms throughout the developed world.

The idea: Robots and AI could help close the labor gap, literally doing the jobs people used to do. The tech could also help farmers optimize their operations, allowing them to produce as much food as possible on their land. “It won’t be too many years before technology will take farmers out of the field and immerse them in the world of robotics, automation, and artificial intelligence,” Richard Norton, CEO of the Food Agility research center, predicted in a press release.

Continue reading at Hortidaily.