Farmers have come a long way since the days of simple hand tools. Beginning as early as the Stone Age, ancient people developed primitive tools using flint, antlers, and later metals such as bronze [4]. Centuries later, the cradle and the scythe replaced the sickle as a method of harvesting grain and wheat. The cradle and scythe simultaneously cut grain, and then gathered it into bundles [5]. Soon afterwards, more mechanical inventions made their way into agricultural world, such as Whitney’s cotton gin [6] in 1793. Before the cotton gin, seeds had to be picked from the cotton by hand. With this new invention, the process became labor-free and highly efficient -- the cotton gin could produce fifty pounds of cotton each day [7].
The invention of the first engine-powered tractors continued a gradual change in the ways of farming. Introduced in 1869, the small road locomotives were driven by one man, depending on the weight of the engine, and they were used mostly in the timber trade [8]. When Henry Ford invented the first gas powered tractor in 1907, it was known as the "automobile plow" [8]. Modern agricultural machinery is specialized according to the task at hand. Field cultivators, for instance, are used to keep fields weed-free until crops are planted, a technique known as bare fallowing [9]. Also, combines are a type of harvester that pick crops and clean the pickings by removing crop junk [10]. With these inventions, greater amounts of food could be produced with less effort.
In the age of technology, robots have come a long way. Still, most "robots" are machines that are only somewhat autonomous -- they still require human intervention, and are comparable to washing machines. In order for them to work, a person must manually set the controls, and the robots do not have the capacity to make their own decisions. One prime example of a partially autonomous "robot" is the Farmatic Robotic Sow [11]. Designed using NASA technology, the "robot" allows piglets to feed without a person having to hand feed them. When the time comes to feed the piglets, the machine releases the formula into a heating chamber where a heat lamp warms the milk to a piglet’s body temperature. The machine then makes grunting noises to call the piglets to it. The Robotic Sow, however, is set to run on a timer and requires a human to set the feeding time. It does not yet have the capability to operate on its own and decide when the piglets are to be fed. Though the Robotic Sow is not completely autonomous, it is a good example of modern technology.
Over time, there has been a movement toward more autonomous tools. Ag-Trackers, known more commonly as Ag-Ants, were developed in order to assist farmers with their daily agricultural routines [12]. This robot cares for corn by means of fertilizing, sampling soil, and checking each stalk for disease. Ag-Trackers incorporate inexpensive yet advanced technology, such as infrared sensors, to control movement. Another example of a currently-used agrobot is Shear Magic, which was created to assist with sheep shearing [12]. As an improvement to a previous shearing robot named Oracle, Shear Magic shears the sheep from the top of the animal rather than the sides and uses a combination of sensors to maintain balance and control. Finally, the DeLaval VMS was developed in order to aid farmers in the milking process [13]. Though its most basic form, the cream separator, was invented in 1878, the VMS Barn allows cows to "milk themselves" and feature minimal to no human involvement. These are just the beginnings of what robots could do in agriculture.
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