robots

Giant Farming Robots | Earth Wise

April 20, 2023 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Farmers are perpetually engaged in a battle against weeds, which can strangle crops and destroy their yields. There are basically two ways to fight weeds: spraying herbicides that are bad for the environment and human health or using human labor to pull the weeds by hand.

Both choices are increasingly undesirable. Herbicide resistance is a growing problem facing farms around the world and widespread labor shortages in the agricultural sector are making it increasingly difficult to use human resources to combat weeds.

A startup company called FarmWise founded by an MIT engineering alumnus is providing a third option for farmers. The company has developed giant autonomous weeding robots that use artificial intelligence to cut out weeds without damaging crops.

The company’s first product is called the Titan. It looks like a large tractor without a driver’s seat. It uses machine vision to distinguish weeds from crop plants like leafy greens, cauliflower, artichokes, and tomatoes. It snips off the weeds with sub-inch precision.

Fifteen titan robots have been roaming the fields of 30 large farms in California and Arizona for several years. A newer robot, called the Vulcan, is more lightweight and is pulled by a tractor. FarmWise continues to add new crops to its database so that the robots can be used to fight weeds in more and more kinds of farms.

Weed problems are especially acute for farmers of specialty crops, which grow on smaller farms than corn and soybeans, and have unique growing practices, which limit the effectiveness of chemical and technical solutions.

The overall goal of FarmWise is to turn artificial intelligence into a tool that is as reliable and dependable as GPS is now in the farming industry.

**********

Web Links

Titanic robots make farming more sustainable

Photo, posted August 23, 2021, courtesy of Carol VanHook via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Helping Corals With Beneficial Bacteria | Earth Wise

March 31, 2021 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

A group of researchers at the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia is exploring a novel technology to improve the health of corals. Around the globe, corals are being stressed by pathogens, toxins, and warming waters leading to widespread bleaching events.

The new idea is to introduce beneficial bacteria to the corals, thereby boosting the strength and resilience of their symbiotic partners. The concept is akin to the use of probiotics in plant science. Corals rely on bacterial and algal symbionts to provide nutrients, energy (through photosynthesis), toxin regulation, and protection against pathogens.

The researchers selected bacteria that are naturally symbiotic to specific coral species on reefs in the Red Sea, ensuring that no alien bacteria are accidentally introduced. A probiotic cocktail comprising six bacteria strains was used in a laboratory setting. Results in the lab have been promising so far, as they have observed dynamic and metabolic alterations to the corals that boosted their chances of survival under heat stress.

Success in the lab will need to be translated to success in the open oceans, which is challenging. Scaling up and seeding whole reefs might involve robots and artificial intelligence in order to deliver probiotics either into sediments or directly onto corals.

The use of beneficial microorganisms is not the solution to the global destruction of coral reefs. Only worldwide CO₂ mitigation can ultimately accomplish that. But the probiotic approach might buy corals some time as they deal with shifting environmental pressures and try to adapt to a changing world.

**********

Web Links

Microbiome boost may help corals resist bleaching

Photo, posted March 18, 2018, courtesy of Steven dos Remedios via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Artificial Aquatic Polyps | Earth Wise

September 16, 2020 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Corals are often mistaken for rocks because of their hardened surfaces. And, since they attach or “take root” to the sea floor, they are often mistaken for plants. But unlike rocks, corals are alive. And unlike plants, corals do not make their own food. Corals are actually animals.

Most of these structures that we call “coral” are made up of hundreds to thousands of tiny coral creatures called polyps. A coral polyp, which is often no thicker than a nickel, has a saclike body and mouth that is encircled by stinging tentacles. Polyps are responsible for a host of ecosystem services, including nourishing corals, and aiding coral survival by generating self-made currents through the motion of their soft bodies.

Inspired by these marine organisms, researchers from the University of Warwick in the UK and Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands have collaborated to develop an artificial aquatic polyp capable of removing contaminants from water. The 1 square centimeter wireless robot polyp can attract, grasp, and release objects, moving under the influence of a magnetic field and whose “tentacles” are triggered by light.

The next step for the researchers is to see if the technology can be successfully scaled up from laboratory to pilot scale. In order for that to happen, the team has to design an array of artificial polyps capable of working harmoniously together.

Corals are an incredibly important part of ocean ecosystems. And while it remains to be seen how much value artificial polyps can achieve in future applications, it serves as another example of scientists emulating nature to create more sustainable designs.

**********

Web Links

Aquatic robots can remove contaminant particles from water

An artificial aquatic polyp that wirelessly attracts, grasps, and releases objects

Photo, posted April 14, 2011, courtesy of Derek Keats via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

A Camera For Insects | Earth Wise

August 26, 2020 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Electronic devices get smaller and smaller all the time. We are used to carrying around phones in our pockets that incorporate a whole host of sophisticated devices. But we can still be amazed by miniaturization. Recently, scientists at the University of Washington announced the development of a tiny, wireless camera small enough to be worn by insects. The work was published in the journal Science Robotics.

The device weighs only 250 milligrams, which is less than one hundredth of an ounce. The camera streams high-resolution video to a smartphone at up to 5 frames per second, which allows scientists to record video of what insects see in real time.

The device has a mechanical arm that allows the camera to pivot 60 degrees, which can allow it to create panoramic shots. It is controlled by a smartphone app and can be operated up to 120 meters away from the insect.

The new camera system enables scientists to better understand insect behavior and explore novel environments. Having a first-person view from the back of a beetle while it is walking around allows researchers to explore how it responds to different stimuli that it sees in its environment.

Of more general interest, the technology can be used to help develop the next generation of small robots. Insects can traverse rocky environments, which is really challenging for small robots to do. The device will allow engineers to study how insects can move around in such environments. It will also be useful for observing and collecting samples from hard-to-navigate spaces.

It is remarkable how sophisticated technology keeps getting smaller and smaller.

*********

Web Links

Scientists Develop Tiny Camera Backpack for Insects

Photo courtesy of Mark Stone/University of Washington.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Fighting Mildew With Robots | Earth Wise

July 10, 2020 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Cornell Researchers have partnered with Norwegian company SAGA Robotics to develop autonomous robots that can roam vineyards at night armed with ultraviolet lamps that can kill powdery mildew, which is a pathogen that devastates many crops, including grapes.

The robots are being field tested on Chardonnay grapes at two sites: Cornell AgriTech’s research vineyards in Geneva, New York, and at Anthony Road Wine Co. in Penn Yan, New York.

Cornell has been researching the use of UV light to kill grapevine powdery mildew for nearly 30 years. They have also worked with the University of Florida on using it to control powdery mildew in strawberries.

The UV treatment has been shown to suppress powdery mildew over a period of two years with the application of treatments once a week. The technique represents a breakthrough because the mildew can adapt to chemical anti-fungal sprays in a single season, making them ineffective. UV light damages DNA, but mildews have natural biochemical defenses that are triggered by the blue light present in sunlight. By applying the UV at night, when there is no blue light from the sun, the defenses of the mildew are defeated.

In earlier trials, the researchers used UV lamps mounted on a tractor wagon, but this required all-night labor to treat an entire vineyard. That has now been replaced with autonomous vehicles that can work seven nights a week, all night long.

The next development will be imaging technology that will detect and quantify mildew on grape leaves. With this, the dose of UV light applied to a particular vine will depend on whether it is sick or healthy.

A high-tech solution to a problem that plagues vineyards.

**********

Web Links

Robots armed with UV light fight grape mildew

Photo courtesy of Rodrigo Onofre/Twitter.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.