Home > Article > Technology peripherals > How do Germans use robots to farm? It is foreseeable that farmers may become high-tech and sophisticated professions in the future
"At noon on the day of hoeing, the sweat drips from the soil", the farmer uncles can actually plant the land one day without sweating in the fields - remotely operated intelligent robot planting that condenses the essence of various technologies land, is becoming a reality in Germany. And this may lead to major changes in global agriculture in the future.
Farming is a human behavior that conforms to laws and transforms nature, but a robot has no consciousness. How will it farm the land? What kind of technical support is behind it? And why can it be put into large-scale use first in Germany? Will it set foot on the Chinese soil one day in the future?
Before this advanced technology is introduced into the Chinese agricultural market, let us first take a look at its appearance, review its advantages and impacts, and find out why we say that robots will change the future of global agriculture.
If you set foot on the flat fields of a German farm, you will see something like this: the ravines in the fields are straight and clear, like a manicured lawn track, and the tops are racing like racing cars. The ones doing the work were large robots with rumbling gears.
Look at what the farmers in Germany are doing - they are resting comfortably in the shade, using only the remote control in their hands to manipulate hundreds of acres of land.
This is the robot farming technology that Germany has put into practical use on a large scale. From plowing, sowing, watering and fertilizing to weeding, pest control, irrigation, and harvesting, the entire set of assembly line operations does not require humans to do it themselves, only robots do it for them.
No wonder some people say that Germans are the most "lazy" nation, because they will never do anything they can do by machines. Laundry, dishwashing, sweeping the floor, delivering express delivery, and now even farming.
The operation of the German farming robot is not difficult to understand, just like a more advanced remote control racing car. Through the satellite positioning and navigation system, farmers can remotely control the robot's actions. However, coupled with the precise calculation of computer artificial intelligence science and the new AI visual recognition system, the robot has a stronger ability to farm independently and deal with problems.
Then apply the very popular big data and AI algorithms to reduce the error rate of robots, allowing robots to accumulate experience at work, learn independently, and complete self-evolution. This will free up farmers' hands even more, without even using too much. By operating, the robot can complete the work autonomously.
Take the weeding robot as an example. There are three weeding knives at the bottom of the weeding robot in German farms. There are two modes for weeding: to treat the newly grown grass, cut it directly with the blade; to treat the grown grass. For stubborn weeds, the high-speed rotating blade is inserted into the ground to directly crush the weeds by their roots, leaving only small holes on the ground.
While weeding, the robot also uses blades to loosen the soil in the fields so that the crops can grow better. It can even monitor the health of crops, remind farmers to eliminate pests when there are pests, remind farmers to apply fertilizer when crops are malnourished, and estimate harvest yields by calculating land and crop data.
The robot does not consume oil or coal energy, and does not emit exhaust gas that will adversely affect the growing environment of crops. Instead, it generates electricity through the solar power panels on the top. When the weather is good, the robot can be charged while working, which gives farmers peace of mind and does not have to worry about the robot stopping in the field mid-work.
In short, German farming robots are a typical production and operation method of technological agriculture and digital agriculture. In today's society where artificial intelligence is becoming more and more developed and computer algorithms are becoming more and more advanced, the combination of technology and digital in all walks of life is one of the development hot spots that people cannot ignore, and represents the leading direction of development in all walks of life.
Why is Germany leading the world in applying agricultural robots on farms? This is not only because of Germany’s historical accumulation of good at inventing and creating machinery mentioned above, but the most important reason is to save costs.
Germany has a land area of nearly 360,000 square kilometers and a population of just over 80 million. On average, every 231 people can occupy one square kilometer of land. It is relatively sparsely populated and does not have that much population available for agricultural production. Coupled with the plain terrain in the developed agricultural areas of Germany, German farms are often large areas of flat land, and there are very few farmers who can be allocated to them.
As a result, it is very difficult to run a large farm successfully with manpower alone. Farmers not only have to spend large sums of money to hire laborers, but every rainy day also greatly affects the progress of farming. Moreover, no matter how experienced farmers are, they cannot guarantee a completely accurate judgment on the crops. From this point of view, it is necessary to introduce robots into German farms.
The robot does not eat, drink, or sleep. It not only reduces the human resource cost during farming, but also greatly improves the farming efficiency of German farms. In this way, in the same period of time, German farms can have higher crop output, feed more Germans, and at the same time save more German farmers' time, allowing them to shine in other fields - in the long run , which is very beneficial to the overall development of the entire country.
Since robots are so easy to use, why don’t we often see robots in China’s farmland, where technology and economic development are leading the world?
In fact, in some areas with relatively developed agriculture, our scientists are also actively promoting the development of intelligent and automated agricultural applications. In 2022, the National Bureau of Statistics announced China's total grain output that year. China's total grain output was 686.53 million tons, an increase of 0.5% from 2021. China's grain production has been bumper for eight consecutive years, and the help of agricultural intelligent robots is indispensable.
In the farmland in these areas, picking robots, weeding robots, fertilizing robots, pesticide spraying robots, and farming robots are all relatively common, while irrigation robots have a longer application history.
However, China’s land area is too large and the situation is too complicated. From an economic perspective, most of China's rural areas and farmland are located in economically underdeveloped areas and do not have the conditions to purchase expensive robotic equipment. Even if robotic equipment is introduced in these places, local farmers may not have the complete knowledge system to apply them.
In addition, many agricultural planting areas in our country are not located in plains, but in rugged mountainous areas, with irregular farmland, such as the terraced fields that are famous as scenic spots. If robots are to be applied in these places, higher-precision satellite navigation technology and AI sensing technology will be needed. It will also require long-term efforts by our country's technicians to overcome such technical problems.
In addition, we also have to worry about a more realistic problem: China's agricultural population accounts for about half of the entire country's population. If agricultural intelligent robots are introduced directly and rashly from abroad and let them work in the fields instead of farmers, there will inevitably be consequences. Some farmers have become “saved” human resources.
However, so many farmers in China have been farming for generations. If they are not allowed to continue farming, where will they go? The coming and going of such a large group is an issue worthy of consideration by relevant experts.
It seems that each country has its own national conditions, and we cannot jump out of reality and lump them all together. Chinese scientists are already working hard to develop intelligent robots that are more suitable for China's agricultural conditions. We don't have to envy the high-tech scenes of German farms.
In the future era of artificial intelligence and digital economy, China, as one of the world's powerful countries, will not be unable to keep up, but will lead the world!
When we were young, we always imagined that when robot technology develops in the future, we will let robots do various things for humans, and humans will be able to free their hands and enjoy the beauty. Nowadays, with the development of artificial intelligence technology, our childhood dreams are gradually coming true... As robotic technology develops more and more, what surprises will be brought to us in the future?
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