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The Digital Farmhand uses smartphone technology to assess plant health and smart tools to conduct spraying and weed control, perform crop analytics and automate simple farming tasks.

A robot from Australia built in 2016 named Ripper has evolved over the years to become a powerful weed fighter now known as two robots for the farm: Digital Farmhand and Swagbot.

Robotic technology enables farmers to pinpoint the exact source of a pest infestation or disease concern within a field and treat the crops directly affected. That also means lower production costs, less of an impact on the environment and a healthier, more abundant harvest.

According to Professor Salah Sukkarieh with the University of Sydney’s Australian Centre for Robotics, the Digital Farmhand has been used the most on farming operations.

“It has been deployed on some farms, although mainly in prototype form rather than as a widely commercialized product. It’s been used for tasks like precision weeding, crop monitoring and autonomous navigation in small-holder and mid-scale farming systems. However, it hasn’t yet spun out as a commercial venture, and further refinement is needed to scale it for widespread adoption.”

Digital Farmhand uses smartphone technology to assess plant health and smart tools to conduct spraying and weed control, perform crop analytics and automate simple farming tasks. Like a tractor, Digital Farmhand uses a hitch mechanism that allows the attachment of various implements like a seeder, sprayer and weeder, Sukkarieh said.

“The robot’s sensing technology and computation technology reads crop information in real-time via a smartphone and provides a considerable amount of data to the grower,” he added. “For example, data processed on the phone itself can identify a type of pest or fungus that might be on the plant, signaling to Digital Farmhand to spray the correct type of fungicide.”

As many of the farms are located in remote areas, the robot is easy to maintain and uses basic manufacturing techniques enabling it to be repaired locally with off-the-shelf parts.

On the livestock side, SwagBot is still in its research and development phase. While early trials have demonstrated its ability to herd cattle, monitor livestock health and assess pasture conditions, there’s still work to be done to enhance its autonomy, sensing accuracy and energy efficiency, Sukkarieh said.

“The interest from cattle producers has been strong, particularly for its potential to reduce labor costs and improve herd management, but it’s not yet at full commercial deployment,” Sukkarieh said. “The battery-powered SwagBot can now determine the health, type and density of pasture and monitor the health of livestock. It then uses this information to autonomously herd cattle to the best pastures and move them before land is overgrazed and soil becomes degraded. It can also feed data back to farmers.”

“Once the cattle are used to the robot, they will follow the robot around,” Sukkarieh said. “You want to move the animals to the right part of the pasture where there is good protein, good carbs. You want to be able to do that in a very fluid manner without fences.”

Sukkarieh has heard firsthand in his travels around the world visiting farms that this kind of technology would be a timesaver for farmers. He and his team are behind SwagBot and Digital Farmhand.

“I want to put technology on the farm that makes farming a lot more sustainable, cleaner and healthier,” he said.

Most of the field trials with these technological tools are done on farms in Australia, Indonesia, Samoa and Fiji.