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Robots to oust farm workers
MICHAEL LEIDIG in Vienna http://www.scmp.com/News/World/Article/FullText_asp_ArticleID-20000601033706 694.asp Robots could be put to work in Germany's fields to replace farm workers who are leaving agriculture in record numbers because of poor pay and long hours. Scientists are creating fully automated farms where robots plough fields, plant crops and tend plants, making sure they are sprayed and watered and eventually harvesting them. One of the scientists, Markus Demmel, of Munich's University of Technology, said: "Much of the technology exists but it needs to be adapted to the needs of agriculture. In the fields, we would have robot ploughmen moving from field to field using the Global Positioning System (GPS) and specially adapted electronic sensors to ensure they missed each other and obstacles like trees or telephone poles. "Similar machines would carefully plant the seed and then monitor the state of the crop, reporting back to the farmer with any problems. They can even advise on the best crops to plant after linking with other farms and looking at soil and existing stocks and prices. And fertilising and the use of pesticides could be measured out to exactly the right proportions using computers that analysed the state of the crop, weather and time of the year." Dr Demmel said the first prototype farm robot had already been built and within 10 years, fully automated farms could be a reality. "Unmanned machines are already in use in Japan with great success and are being used to plant entire fields of rice. If Europe wants to remain competitive, it will have to follow this example," Dr Demmel said. He said once people realised how much more efficient robots were, they would never return to human labour. "There are fewer and fewer agricultural workers, not just in Germany but in Europe as a whole. "The system using robots is the best alternative for helping to replace these missing workers. They will be able to work harder and are totally dedicated to one thing - farming." |
