New Atlas

Electronics Audio available

Swarms of bionic bees could monitor farms with electronic backpacks

Michael Irving December 11, 2018

Our drones are pretty handy, but nature’s drones – bees – are far more efficient. Rather than building our own from scratch, researchers at the University of Washington have created tiny suites of sensors that bees can wear like backpacks, to help gather data from their environment.

Researchers have fitted bees with electronic backpacks that can sense their surroundings and collect data

Wearables Audio available

Smart ear tag may save ranchers time and money

Ben Coxworth November 20, 2018

Australian cattle stations (aka ranches) can be huge, so checking on all the cows is a big task. With that in mind, the CSIRO national science agency has teamed up with agtech startup Ceres Tag to develop an ear tag that not only tracks the animals' whereabouts, but also detects unusual activity.

Plans call for the Ceres Tag to be made smaller and lighter, and to also incorporate ...

Environment

Sensors buried in farmers' fields may help prevent algae blooms

Ben Coxworth November 1, 2018

Toxic algae blooms can be nasty, killing fish, other wildlife and sometimes even people. One of the main causes of such blooms is excessive amounts of fertilizer running off of fields and into waterways. A new type of buried sensor, however, could help address that situation.

Toxic algae blooms are at least partially caused by fertilizer that runs off of farmers' fields ...

Robotics

Brexit prompts push for robotic strawberry pickers

David Szondy August 28, 2018

Britain is facing a strawberry labor shortage that only threatens to only get worse as Brexit approaches, so roboticists at the University of Essex are working in conjunction with jam makers Wilkin & Sons of Tiptree to develop robots to take up the slack.

The new robot is designed to ease labor shortages on British strawberry farms

Automotive

Yanmar's robotic tractors bring autonomous vehicles out to farm

David Szondy July 21, 2018

We've had autonomous cars, autonomous trucks, and autonomous buses, and now Osaka-based diesel engine manufacturer Yanmar is introducing a new line of robotic tractors that operate in autonomous and semi-autonomous modes.

Yanmar's YT5113A Robot Tractor boasts autonomous capabilities

Good Thinking

World's largest vertical farm will feed Emirates Airlines passengers

Michael Irving July 5, 2018

The world’s biggest vertical farm is set to be built – like so many other “world’s biggest” things – in Dubai, where it will grow salads and leafy greens for Emirates Airlines passengers.

The world's largest vertical farm is due to be built in Dubai, to cater to Emirates ...

Drones

Dropcopter's drones boost crop pollination by up to 60% in bad bee years

Loz Blain July 4, 2018

A large percentage of the world's food production relies on bee pollination - but what do we do when the bees can't be relied on? US startup Dropcopter has just demonstrated that it can deliver a 25-60 percent boost in pollination rates using autonomous drones to pick up where the bees left off.

The Dropcopter drone is designed to pollen-bomb rows of crops following a pre-programmed route

Materials

Garden-variety graphene gets to work as a slow-release fertilizer

Michael Irving March 7, 2018

Another day, another new use for graphene. This two-dimensional form of carbon is strong, flexible and a great conductor. Now the overachieving wonder material has been put to work in the garden, as Australian researchers have used it as an effective slow-release carrier for fertilizer.

Researchers at the University of Adelaide have developed a graphene oxide-based fertilizer, which is able to ...

Science

Crops successfully engineered to need 25 percent less water

Rich Haridy March 7, 2018

Scientists have revealed that a genetic tweak to a single protein could result in crops needing up to 25 percent less water to produce a regular yield. It's hoped the breakthrough will lead to a new generation of water-efficient agriculture.

Successfully trialled in a crop of tobacco, the genetically engineered plants require 25 percent less water ...

Environment

All in the genes: Food fit for a warming world

James Holloway February 16, 2018

New research suggests that it may be possible to engineer cauliflower, broccoli, rapeseed, and other crops, so they're better suited to farming in a world beset by climate change. The key is in the gene that influences how these plants release their seeds.

Rapeseed is one of the foods that could be made more temperature-resilient, research suggests