Posted on 04/08/2006 3:25:10 PM PDT by Reaganesque
April 8, 2006 Robots are on the march again into the last bastion of labour intensive industry - farming and horticulture. Researchers from Warwick HRI (the University of Warwick's horticultural arm), and its manufacturing engineering section, Warwick Manufacturing Group, are working on a suite of robots and automated systems which could transform farming and horticulture over the next decade. One of the best ideas we’ve seen in a long time is this inflatable conveyor belt developed for UK-based agricultural machinery company Aeropick. Due to an ingenious wheeled and inflatable system, up to 100 metres of powered conveyor belt can be deployed within five minutes to aid the agricultural and horticultural harvesting process and offers massive labour cost savings along with significant increases in productivity. As the belt can be set up to variable length of between 25 metres and 100 metres, it is highly adaptable allowing crops to be processed at high speed straight to cool storage, washing, sorting, grading etc Amazingly, there’s also a mushroom picking robot and Robot Grass Cutter too.
The inflatable conveyor system can be driven into an open field or covered growing area on the Brumby VariTrak base vehicle. The Varitrack can vary its wheel spacing from 1 to 1.5 metres to suit crop spacing and has an additional 10KVA of power for processing, cooling, washing, sorting etc. in the field.
The robotic mushroom picker robot uses a charged coupled camera to spot and select only mushrooms of the exact size required for picking achieving levels of accuracy far in excess of human labour. The mushrooms are then picked by a suction cup on the end of a robotic arm. Whilst the speed of picking is currently just over half that of a human - the mushrooms and the robot can be set to pick 24 hours a day right through the night without the need for a break. The researchers also hope to increase the speed of picking to much closer to that of a human worker.
Mowing the lawn is a drudge but for growers, farmers, even golf course owners, with large amounts of grass land it's a massive problem with every tractor requiring a skilled employee to manage such pastures. Researchers in the Warwick Manufacturing Group are developing a new method which can allow a farmer or grower to deploy multiple robotic grass cutting machines at the same time all under the supervision of just a single employee. They are working with the "Ransomes Spider" grass cutting device which can already be remotely controlled and can even mow on 40 degree inclines. They are replacing that remote control with a computer that can use its own data sensors attached to the mower, to autonomously travel across fields working in groups with other robotic mowers ensure that the field is mowed as quickly as possible.
I used to head a shop maintaining commercial grounds equipment; we had a vintage Toro 3-gang riding finish mower that used reel and knife bar cutters.
A groundsman had been the sole operator if that machine for over 15 years. The summer after that operator retired, we got some summer help through a high school work program and the chief of grounds maintenance sent one of the 17 year old lads out to mow in the morning; by noon, the machine was inoperable and we ended up scrapping it out.
Thanks for posting.
I'll be happy to help this fledgling industry out in any way possible.
" I've yet to meet a union worker whom likes illegal immigration."
It isn't the workers, it's the union bosses, especially construction. The only union contractors left are those doing public works and jobs on large buildings of companies with strong unions, ie. auto plants, steel plants etc..
They see legalizing illegals as a way to shore up union membership and force contractors to become unionized again.
Illegals from Mexico sre prime suspects since Mexico is highly unionized and it's part of their culture.
LOL Wait a minute we best be careful or we will violate the robots civil rights!
Robots don't got civil rights.
They just have The Three Laws.
Many of those 'disillusioned union workers' are actually good, solid Archie Bunker and Joe Six-pack types. Not too much of a stretch for them to go conservative. Many are waking up to the fact that the Dems and their leaders have ties to gun-grabbing commie pukes, and voting Pubbie.
Next time, Mr. Farmer, check those worker S.S. #'s against the Government database!
Nice gig! Congratulations.
Nobody here is advocating putting another engineer in the White House. Putting a lawyer in there would be just as bad. I'm all for putting a conservative History Teacher in charge, myself.
The Industrial Revolution never stopped, but I'm of the opinion that it has slowed to some degree. I'm of the opinion that it's currently being retarded in this country by the 'wave of serfs' crashing over the border. They're negatively affecting our impetus to innovate in the industries where they're employed.
It won't be the same as hunting with dogs, but you can't stop progress!
L
You already posted my sentiments, so there's no need for me to compose a clever post. "Slaves, plantations" -- that's exactly how these folks are treated by those who say they take jobs Americans won't do. Pickin' cotton....
While in graduate school in biochemistry at a major agricultural school,
I noted that the agricultural engineering department seemed to be the most nearly
moribund department in the sciences.
All I could think was that with all the cheap labor, there was just no
push to automate a lot of the agricultural enterprise beyond what we
had done by about 1970.
About the time we were flooded with illegal immigrants, wasn't it?
You know, this thread is becoming it's own third world toilet. The 2nd best place to piss is the Metro in Madrid at the Orence train station where the punks are. The 1st place to piss is on the No.2 elevator of the Eiffel Tower when it's humid and hot. Make sure to grab a beer at the bar on top and sit down near the No.4 elevator to observe the people that made it up the No.2 elevator for cheap thrills.
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