Agribots: Future of Agriculture is Here and Now

We have heard about drones spraying the fields with pesticides, machines helping in plucking the weeds, ploughing and harvesting the field, monitoring the crops and much more. All these machines are just different versions of Agribots. 

So, no more sweating in the sun for the farmers, no more ploughing and weeding, no more harvesting and plucking. There is a robot for every task. It is not that nothing has to be done by the farmers, rather they have to do the most difficult task – getting things done. They can lay back and direct a machine to do the needful. This way they save time, efforts and energy only to utilise in planning, increasing their efficiency and of crops too and producing extra income for themselves, family and friends. 

As soon as you read and listen to this, your mind starts questioning. 

• What will be the cost involved for these agribots? 
• Will the size and shape of Agribots be user friendly? 
• What will be its authenticity?  
• How reliable it will be? 
• Will illiterate farmers be able to learn and use it? 

Fortunately, there is a positive angle to all the answers to the above questions. In agricultural sector robotic farming is all set to revolutionize the industry. 

What are Agribots? 

Abbreviated as Agricultural Robots, they are basically artificial intelligence based robots useful for farming practices. They lead to automation of farming practices and thus decreasing the manual as well as time investments in farming business and gaining better income, profit and future. Agribots have proved useful and supportive in increasing food production levels in the country. They help to increase crop efficiency and decrease manual labour thus giving double returns to the farmers. We have covered several stories on Kisan of India web portal and YouTube channel on Agribots. 

What Agribots can do? 

As it is said – Nothing is impossible for believers. The Agribots are made with full conviction and belief. They can perform multiple tasks without being exhausted. Some of the tasks include : 

• Sowing the seeds 
• Watering the plants
• Soil analysis 
• Weed control 
• Sorting and Packing 
• Harvesting and Picking 
• Environmental monitoring 
• Automated mowing, pruning, seeding, spraying 
• Crop seeding 
• Crop monitoring and much much more… 

Types of Agribots 

i) Flying Agribots 

ii) Field Agribots 

As the name suggests, flying Agribots are drones that fly high and low depending on the need of the fields. They can spray pesticides and fertilisers, monitor the fields, etc. Whereas field Agribots are the one that can enter the fields and reach each and every plant. They help in watering the plants, weeding, harvesting, crop seeding, etc. Main thing is the mode of application which decides their function for the fields and in turn to the farmers. Agribots come in various sizes and shapes as per their need and application. 

How Agribots help farmers? 

When Agribots perform all the basic and advanced functions required for producing crops, they are no doubt very helpful. 

• Agribots on tractors can decide where to plant, when to harvest and how to choose the best route for crisscrossing the farmland. 
• Irrigating the crops and fertilising them will require a lot of water in traditional methods. Whereas with Agribots assistance, less water will be used as wastage of water will be minimised. The robots on ground will navigate through the field and pour water directly to the base of the plant. 
• Robots can even help in fertilising plants. Flying robots serve the purpose best. In case of corn farming, the plants grow rapidly and it gets difficult to fertilise them in time. So, Agribots can help to provide nitrogen to the base of every plant. 
• It is not advisable to spray pesticides to the whole field in order to remove weeds. Agribots practice micro spraying targeted amount of herbicides on the crops. This reduces the quantity of pesticides used, thus reducing farmer’s expenses. 
• Other agribots can just uproot the weeds by use of computer vision detection that helps in detecting the weeds. 

Agribots are yet another robots being developed with the help of Artificial Intelligence. Any robot including Agribots usually have five parts: 

1. Sensors –They are basically the senses of the robots through which they sense their surroundings. These sensors send information in the form of electronic signals to the controller. 

2. Controller – It is the brain of the robot. It gets signals from the sensors about the surroundings. Also, robots are designed and programmed to get specific information or commands. 

3. Drivers/Actuators – It is the engine of the robot which helps in giving motion to the machine. 

4. Arms – These are just like our arms with a shoulder, elbow, wrist and fingers. They  follow the command given to the robot and perform all the functions. 

5. End effectors – They are the part of the robot that interacts with work environment. 

Benefits 

While discussing the agribots, we have already mentioned its benefits. Still, lets list down a few here for clarity. 

• Elimination of labour. 
• Accuracy in work. 
• Quick and composed. 
• Small yet useful to care for each and every plant. 
• Saviour of material like insecticides, pesticides, fertilisers, water, medicines, etc. 
• Increases productivity. 
• Enhances quality of the produce. 
• Lower cost of production. 
• Encourages youth to take up farming. 
• Supports multitasking for farmers. 
• Motivate farmers for exploring new areas like animal husbandry along with farming. 
• Work in adverse conditions. 
• Never get sick or tired so don’t ask for breaks. 
• They need one time investment. 

Drawbacks 

No doubt, Agribots are useful for farmers but at times they become liability. 

• Costly to implement. 
• Maintenance is another issue. 
• High cost of research and development. 
• Time management is a difficult need. 
• Power cut and shortage make use of robots difficult as they need power for action. 
• No decision making power. 
• Poor farmers don’t have access to Agribots. 
• No emotions for flourishing fields. 

Now we understand what robot and specially agribot is. They play a crucial role in taking informed decisions related to farming. Critical analysis of Agribots gives them full marks for their structure and functions. Although their cost is a grave concern but experts call it a one time investment. Their maintenance can be another issue of debate but that can only be answered with use and time. 

Upcoming generations are keen about this technological transformation. Old generation farmers are enjoying the evolutionary phase and trying to cope up with today’s scenario. We hope this effort on behalf of Kisan of India has helped you learn about agricultural robots and their relevance in farming industry. 

Read More: ‘Agribot’ : India’s first government approved Agriculture Drone

Contact us: If farmers want to share information or experiences related to farming with us, then they can do this by calling us on the phone number 9599273766 or by writing an email to kisanofindia.mail@gmail.com or by sending your recording. Through Kisan of India, we will convey your message to the people, because we believe that if the farmers are advanced then the country is happy.