Farming with robots & drones

19 มีนาคม 2558

From forecasting weather to monitoring fields & applying fertiliser, robots & drones developed at Mahidol University aim to help farms cope with climate change, labour shortages & ageing farmers.

Testing a robot that helps with farming in a field.

AGRICULTURE & TECHNOLOGY

Smartening up modern farming

A team from Mahidol University is developing drones and robots which they hope will revolutionise Thai agriculture
17/03/2015
Melalin Mahavongtrakul

Asst Prof Teerakiat Kerdcharoen shows off technology developed by his team.

'In the future, I can see a farmer sitting at home, pressing buttons that guide a flock of drones to fly out over the fields," envisioned Asst Prof Teerakiat Kerdcharoen at Mahidol University.

Dr. Teerakiat's team is currently developing farm robots. From forecasting the weather to flying out and monitoring the fields, these drones could help farmers give customised care to different sections of their land...

....The team's goal is to encourage smart farming — or precision farming — in order to reduce resources that go into agriculture, as well as decreasing the amount of waste that is generated...

...Instead of throwing everything blindly at plants — such as feeding fertiliser to all plants equally when they may not need it — knowing precisely what and where the problem lies will help farmers stop wasting resources. This will eventually reduce the cost of farming — such as the use of chemicals, fertiliser and labour — as well as decreasing the impact on the environment.

Drones fly out, monitor the land, and inform farmers of the condition of their crops. Another of their ground robots can determine nutrients in the soil. They've also developed a weather forecast system to inform farmers of any impending change in the weather. Robots can help farmers determine when they should spray insecticides on crops.

In the future, Teerakiat's team — which specialises in sensors — will soon collaborate with a team at Chiang Mai University, who specialises in mechanics, to develop bigger drones that could carry more weight.

Around the world, the use of high technology has been increasing in agriculture. There are now tractors that harvest crops, remove weeds and distribute fertiliser, leading in some cases to the automation of farming tasks. In some areas, farmers use drones that fly onto fields and spray chemicals according to their flight plan. Workers no longer have to be out under the sun themselves, and an area that previously required 100 people to maintain will soon be safe under the control of just five people.

Some countries, such as the US, Israel and Australia, are well on the road towards robotic use in agriculture. Thailand is still in the initial stages. However, Dr. Teerakiat believes that smart farming, as well as the shift towards automation, is necessary as agricultural methods are transformed by climate change and ageing farmers.

"Climate change is not going to ruin all agriculture. It will ruin some aspects, but it will also improve things in other ways. For example, northern Canada has grown 10% in agriculture in the past few years due to the increase in temperature. The climate is now more suitable for plants to grow," he said.

In Thailand, Teerakiat cited Isan as an example of how the change in temperature enables farmers to grow strawberries and tulips — something they can make money from.

"This shift in the environment means we can no longer stick to the old, traditional ways of farming," he said. "We now have to look towards making use of technology which can forecast the weather, for instance. We need to find out which crops yield better results with the changing climate. We have to know which area will be less or more suitable for current crops."... [Read the rest of the article here]