Following the machines, people and ideas shaping agriculture. Selected developments, clear context and a link to the original source.
Robotics. Intelligence. Agriculture.
A FAPESP report published in February 2025 describes machine-learning detection of plastic-covered agricultural land, creating evidence that could support collection and recycling plans for used farm plastics.
A March 2025 university report describes Miguel Torres’s team developing an adaptable mobile manipulator for tasks including delicate-fruit handling, with sensing and perception still being refined.
UBC Okanagan researchers received a Husky A300 platform for real-world autonomy experiments, with agricultural work involving field mapping and targeted interventions alongside a separate wildfire-research programme.
India’s Press Information Bureau reported FarmBot in May 2025, describing a semi-automatic tracked platform that combines a robotic arm, leaf-image analysis and pesticide application under agricultural research.
Universidad Distrital researchers reported a remotely controlled, 3D-printed legged prototype using eight servomotors and a Raspberry Pi Pico W, testing a low-cost route into agricultural terrain research.
Cornell reported field evaluations of PhytoPatholoBot in September 2025, combining autonomous row travel and canopy imaging to assess grape disease with performance comparable to experienced scouts in the study.
A November 2025 University of Sydney report connects Salah Sukkarieh’s farm-robot research with crop measurement and trials involving women and young farmers in Cambodia, emphasizing practical access to technology.
A March 2018 University of Illinois report documented early field testing of TerraSentia, a small autonomous platform designed to gather plant traits between rows and support breeding research.
In July 2019, Cambridge reported field tests of a lettuce-harvesting prototype that identified suitable heads and controlled cutting and gripping, while openly acknowledging that human workers remained faster.
A February 2024 university report describes a solar-powered monitoring and control approach for avocado oil machinery, developed for settings where reliable grid electricity and labour-saving infrastructure are limited.
The European project examined adoption barriers and existing tools across diverse farms, arguing that digital innovation should support ecological management and farmer control rather than add complexity by default.
The Horizon Europe consortium reported results from agricultural, forestry and rural drone use cases, combining demonstrations with assessments of environmental impact, economics, skills and the practical constraints of deployment.
