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When I had a vegetable garden, I had similar ideas. Tiny bots swarming over a field seems much more likely to replace human field labor than giant AI combines.

by inimino 10y ago

When I had a vegetable garden, I had similar ideas. Tiny bots swarming over a field seems much more likely to replace human field labor than giant AI combines. Free robotic labor would eventually change farming totally. I don't really know at this point why this hasn't happened yet, either because of technical challenges or just a lack of investment because it's not aligned with the way big agribusiness operates. I'm sure there are still huge technical challenges. I'm not sure whether or not there's a viable product there yet, like a weeder recognizing viola plants. Nature had millions of years head start designing the rodent, we can't copy those things yet. But maybe there are some things on your list that can be done with current technology though. If not, it probably won't be long. I'm located in China right now and have some contacts in robotics, I don't know if I can help or not, but my email's in my profile.

jelliclesfarm 10y ago
When we run out of land. And eventually oil..and there is no more rural land...all the giant farm machinery will be useless. When there are no more trained farmers because noone is doing it anyways because it's not a viable or $$ earning job, there needs to be a repository of knowledge about food production. I don't know if weeding violas would be necessary then but it wouldn't hurt to have AI keep a record of what violas look like..substitute violas with chard or Eggplant. It's about what to pick and what to leave behind. For example..to recognize tomatoes ready for picking, colour sensors wouldn't work..there are so many diff colours to tomato and sometimes variegated shades. How would you know which tomato the bots got to pick? Certainly not by colour. Somethings like red apples and strawberries turn fully red when they are ripe..but not others. There are firmness sensors..some sensors are so sensitive that when it grabs a fruit it can measure the minute 'give' when it ungrabs it..there are brix sensors. Altho I haven't seen them. I only know brix sensors from wine industry where you can pretty much measure sweetness of the liquid. But I have heard there are Brix sensors that can measure level of sugars without hurting soft fruits so only the sweetest fruit is picked and the unripe is left behind without being touched or squeezed by a robotic gripper. I agree..simpler animals have had millions of years headstart with their design..but it's perfected to do their job. Ask any gardener about gophers(or see caddy shack) and they'd tell you that we haven't evolved to defeat them yet! The simple virus is the most elegant and beautiful and most advanced organism because it keeps mutating and we can't defeat it. So there is something to be said for nature(which is why it makes me nervous when it keeps disappearing due to human ignorance and apathy and arrogance) I will certainly touch base with you. Thanks for the discussion.

by inimino 10y ago

jelliclesfarm 10y ago

When we run out of land. And eventually oil..and there is no more rural land...all the giant farm machinery will be useless. When there are no more trained farmers because noone is doing it anyways because it's not a viable or $$ earning job, there needs to be a repository of knowledge about food production. I don't know if weeding violas would be necessary then but it wouldn't hurt to have AI keep a record of what violas look like..substitute violas with chard or Eggplant. It's about what to pick and what to leave behind. For example..to recognize tomatoes ready for picking, colour sensors wouldn't work..there are so many diff colours to tomato and sometimes variegated shades. How would you know which tomato the bots got to pick? Certainly not by colour. Somethings like red apples and strawberries turn fully red when they are ripe..but not others. There are firmness sensors..some sensors are so sensitive that when it grabs a fruit it can measure the minute 'give' when it ungrabs it..there are brix sensors. Altho I haven't seen them. I only know brix sensors from wine industry where you can pretty much measure sweetness of the liquid. But I have heard there are Brix sensors that can measure level of sugars without hurting soft fruits so only the sweetest fruit is picked and the unripe is left behind without being touched or squeezed by a robotic gripper. I agree..simpler animals have had millions of years headstart with their design..but it's perfected to do their job. Ask any gardener about gophers(or see caddy shack) and they'd tell you that we haven't evolved to defeat them yet! The simple virus is the most elegant and beautiful and most advanced organism because it keeps mutating and we can't defeat it. So there is something to be said for nature(which is why it makes me nervous when it keeps disappearing due to human ignorance and apathy and arrogance) I will certainly touch base with you. Thanks for the discussion.