This small robot will revolutionize agriculture

According to experts, robots can help reduce hazardous waste from farming activities such as pesticides and help harvest crops, but they will not soon have commercial versions in the next few years.

The benefits of using robots in agriculture have long been confirmed when it frees labor, reduces pesticide use and helps reduce the discharge of by-products to the environment.

In the UK, a type of insecticide spraying robot is being developed, which could become a tool to revolutionize agriculture when officially put into widespread use. However, scientists say their products are difficult to commercialize and the best scenario is that it will take 3 years before robots come out on a large scale.

Robot spraying pesticides in the UK - (Photo: The Guardian).

The new type of insecticide spraying robot being developed is small in size, suitable for small fields with little budget to invest in high technology. In addition, this robot has revolutionized the insecticide spraying activity, which is being done in a "spray and pray" style that has been used for a long time.

The current, non-focused, inaccurate pesticide spraying pattern makes 95 to 99% of pesticides and herbicides in fact waste, causing environmental pollution. Not only polluting, the widespread spraying of pesticides promotes the resistance of pests and weeds to make plant protection chemicals fast and ineffective, making farmers People must increase the amount of toxic substances used in agriculture.

Some pesticides sprayed in a "spray and pray" style also make pollinators like bees and butterflies unknowingly become victims and banned from being used to protect the environment in some countries.

"Farmers have been under a lot of pressure and sprayed with pesticides over the years. Some spray in desperation. Some of the pesticides they use have been resistant to enemy species. They will not kill them when spraying but kill other insects like pollinators, " said Toby Bruce, professor of ecology, Insect Chemistry at Keele University.

Professor Simon Blackmore, head of the research team, created a new insecticide spraying robot, saying that with less medication, directly spraying it to the target area with 100% control of the robot will help. network agriculture . Using such spraying robots will reduce the amount of pesticides used when cultivating, prevent insects from attacking crops, avoid killing pollinators and reduce the likelihood of drug-resistant pests.

Not only spraying, this robot also discovered deformed, slow-growing vegetables . helping farmers actively remove these excess products before harvesting, thereby increasing product quality. as well as increasing productivity.