Robots Could Help Farmers Cut Cost and Increase Revenue

If all goes well, Australian farmers can say goodbye to the tedious task of weeding and potentially save a collective $1.3 billion a year, thanks to a newly unveiled farming robot.

Aptly called the Agbot II, the agricultural robot is both designed and built by QUT, with the blessing of the Queensland Government, Gizmodo noted. According to the report, this robot could help farmers with this tedious task, while also saving huge amounts of money, which will increase their overall revenue.

Tristan Perez, the leader of QUT’s agricultural robotics program, said Agbot II’s sensors, software and other electronic components let it navigate through a field with ease, and allow it to detect and classify weeds which they can kill mechanically or chemically.
What’s more, Agbot II is has a dual purpose, as it can also be used to apply fertiliser to crops.
Mr Perez described the potential for the robots to “feed back data on such things as soil and crop health and the state of disease [enabling] better management decisions driven by paddock specific real-time information.”
Reports have said that QUT’s robot was also demonstrated for the Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries Leanne Donaldson, to highlight its capabilities.
According to Donaldson, the partnership between QUT and the Queensland Government shows the government can work well with private entities to help the agricultural industry of the country advance.

“My department invested $3 million into this project to help producers use technology to increase efficiencies, profitably and sustainably.”

-Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries Leanne Donaldson

As evidenced by these investments, smart farming and IoT-enabled equipment have seen an increase in the country’s agricultural industry, made possible in the future by an improved internet connection courtesy of nbn^® satellite internet.
With these developments, expect the country’s farming to rise.
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