An Agricultural Robot Makes Its Debut In Fujian

Online People   2019: 07

Fuzhou, 07/11/2019 (The People Online) - While industrial robots have become commonplace in factories throughout eastern China, the country's agricultural sector is seen by some as a place where few technologies they can take root, due to the high cost and the sophisticated natural environment involved in the cultivation of food.

But a research institute and a start-up based in Fuzhou, capital of Fujian province, east of China, are determined to change perception by jointly developing an agricultural robot.

The white agricultural robot, with 5G technology and many sensors, can move between two rows of green leafy vegetables in a greenhouse, collect data on the plants and send them to the control room.

Developed by the Academy of Agricultural Sciences of Fujian and Fujian Newland Era Hi-Tech Co Ltd, the robot is part of its efforts to build a functioning autonomous farm.

Unlike industrial plants where robots can follow pre-established routes and perform fixed jobs, such as feeding standardized electronic parts, agricultural environments are much more complex, said Zhao Jian, deputy head of the Institute of Digital Agriculture of the Academy of Agricultural Sciences of Fujian .

"Agricultural robots also have to adapt to a wide variety of crops, livestock and highly differentiated aquatic products," said Zhao.

To solve the challenges, the research institute and Newland have jointly developed a more sophisticated artificial intelligence system. The computer algorithms, as well as the positioning hardware, map construction, route design and avoid obstacles, have been optimized to adapt to the agricultural environment, taking into account fertilization, plant irrigation, bumpy roads and other factors natural.

The robot's head is equipped with two 5-megapixel cameras that make "eyes" and two 7-megapixel cameras that make "ears." With the sensors at the top of its head and mouth, the robot can also detect wind speed, carbon dioxide levels, humidity, temperature and other data about the natural environment of the greenhouse.

The farm robot has succeeded in verifying its compatibility with 5G mobile communication technology, which allows data to be analyzed by computers enabled by artificial intelligence in the control room more efficiently.

"Currently, the robot can automatically inspect farms and collect data samples that are used to drive various applications. It can determine the health condition of the plants and decide if pest control measures are required," said Chen Li, deputy director of Newland Marketing.

According to Chen, the robot remains a prototype and, based on this, the two sides hope to increase investments to develop versatile robots that can even harvest fruit with a bionic hand in the future.

"Based on the mass agricultural data and images we have acquired, we hope to build a plant growth model optimized to achieve automatic control of the growth environment and early warning of pests and diseases," Chen added.

China is now the largest industrial robot market in the world. As labor costs continue to rise, the demand for robots will be stronger in China, said Wang Tianmiao, president of the Intelligent Manufacturing Research Institute of Beihang University.

Lead Photo: An agricultural robot moves between two rows of plants in a greenhouse in Fuzhou, capital of Fujian Province. [Photo provided to China Daily]