Robotics

Crop-monitoring Solix agri-bot headed for field trials

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The Solix robot will soon be assessed at a farm in Davidson, Saskatchewan
Solinftec
The Solix robot will soon be assessed at a farm in Davidson, Saskatchewan
Solinftec
The Solix robot is designed to navigate fields on its own, wirelessly transmitting real-time data
Solinftec
The technical specifications of the Solix robot have yet to be announced, as it's still in development
Solinftec
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Farmers could be spared a lot of work and expense – plus the environment could be spared a lot of harmful chemicals – if crops didn't have to be sprayed indiscriminately. The new plant-inspecting Solix robot was designed with those facts in mind.

Created by Canadian agri-tech company Solinftec, Solix will autonomously move back and forth through farmers' fields on four wheels.

As it does so, it will use onboard cameras and other sensors (along with AI-based software) to check the health of plants and assess their nutritional content, plus it will look for weeds and evidence of insect damage. Utilizing this data, it will also monitor the state of the entire field's ecosystem.

The Solix robot is designed to navigate fields on its own, wirelessly transmitting real-time data
Solinftec

When a problem is spotted, its location within the field will be noted and reported to the farmer, along with suggestions on how it should be rectified. The farmer can then make a point of applying herbicide, fertilizer or extra water in that one location as needed, instead of having to keep their bases covered by treating the entire field.

Not only does this mean that farmers won't have to buy or apply nearly as much in the way of chemicals, but it also means that a much lower volume of chemicals will enter the environment. Additionally, by constantly keeping on top of crop health, it is hoped that yields will be improved.

The technical specifications of the Solix robot have yet to be announced, as it's still in development.

Plans call for the technology to be assessed at Stone Farms in Davidson, Saskatchewan, in partnership with the University of Saskatchewan. Assuming those trials go well, the robot should be commercially available for use in wheat crops in time for next year's growing season.

Source: Solinftec

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4 comments
paul314
So it's basically doing what farmers and field hands used to do before enormous industrial farms became the norm?
Kiffit
Most certainly is paul314....a replacement for serfdom and farming yields that were a tiny fraction of what modern farming produces per hectare...
TpPa
It's nice idea, but that machine isn't the answer if the picture give an accurate description. The legs looks flimsy, and my God those wheel's & tire's are not going anywhere except for in the barn. To survey a modern super farm it would have to be able to process info at 10 mph 24/7 and you would still need a hundred of them or more. The flying drones doing the same job would get my dollar if I were them.
BruceNAnnWilliams
So, that tiny little toy is going to monitor my fields, some of which are over 1500 acres?
I already have drones that can do the same job much faster.
I can see this on a small farm but not a 12,000-acre operation.