5 ms·

I really hope we get there soon. Not only could this eliminate usage of herbicides, but many smaller autonomous robots vs one really big John Deere could also r

by tda 9y ago

I really hope we get there soon. Not only could this eliminate usage of herbicides, but many smaller autonomous robots vs one really big John Deere could also remove the need for monocultures. And that would really be a major improvement for both crop yields and the environment

noir_lord 9y ago
Would be fantastic to sit and watch an army of spindly legged robots stride around the place doing that. Would be straight out of sci-fi. Robot horticulture has long been a staple.
- mrkrab 9y ago
  A step closer to this. http://i.imgur.com/f7hccDn.gif http://i.imgur.com/f7hccDn.gif
  - xyrnoble 9y ago
    The premise of the matrix violates the first law of thermodynamics; It's just a plot device.
    - deleted 9y ago
      [deleted]
    - Namrog84 9y ago
      Except although the movie does say battery. That's not the original plot device that was written. They were originally written as human based cpu computers. But some higher up thought people wouldn't understand "human processors" so just everytime you think about or watch the matrix again. Just think it's a poor mistranslation that made it into the movie, "processor->battery"
      - slyall 9y ago
        Of course battery is just what Morpheus and the others from Zion think is the story. Considering how wrong they were on other important matters the battery explanation could easily be wrong and the CPU correct.
    - puranjay 9y ago
      Wasn't there some deleted dialog about this? I'm paraphrasing, but Neo says "that's impossible (in reference to the Matrix) since it violates the laws of thermodynamics" To which Morpheus replies "and where did you learn about the laws of thermodynamics?" If you're in the Matrix, your knowledge of the Matrix would come from the Matrix itself which would have a bias towards falsifying information to preserve itself.
puranjay 9y ago
As someone who lives in a country where 55% of the population is involved in agriculture, it sounds more terrifying than wonderful. What will all these people do once farmers are unnecessary?
- kogepathic 9y ago
  > What will all these people do once farmers are unnecessary? There aren't that many people working on farms in developed countries. In the US, only around 3 million people (or <1% of the total population) work on a farm. [0] In other countries where many people are involved in agriculture, the pending industrialisation/automation of farming will probably have a similar impact to what happened in North America and Europe over the 20th century: more people will move to urban areas and add value to the economy in other ways. [0] https://www.agcensus.usda.gov/Publications/2012/Online_Resources/Highlights/Farm_Demographics/ https://www.agcensus.usda.gov/Publications/2012/Online_Resou...
  - puranjay 9y ago
    I'm talking about India. 55% of the workforce turns into hundreds of millions of people.
- noonespecial 9y ago
  >What will all these people do once farmers are unnecessary? The answer is "whatever they want". The big problem facing governments everywhere right now is how to jump over the little gully of poverty that comes right after the change to get there.
  - oofoe 9y ago
    I'm worried that the "gully of poverty" will be crossed over the bodies of the surplus citizenry.
- pix64 9y ago
  Farming is already ridiculously automated. Seems like a battle long lost.
bluGill 9y ago
corn is a tall crop, soy beans are short. Farmers are already experimenting with things like 4 rows of corn 4 soybeans. The corn rows shade the soybean rows and so reduce yield - but in turn the soybeans are not shading the corn so they get slightly better corn yields. This is still experimental, but so far it looks promising.
Gibbon1 9y ago
I remember reading Indians of the Northeast planted corn, beans, and melons together. So switching to polycuture crops should have advantages. One other thing I've read is that annual plants were the easiest plants to domesticate because the short life cycle results in faster evolution. However perennials are likely way less environmentally destructive.

by tda 9y ago

noir_lord 9y ago

Would be fantastic to sit and watch an army of spindly legged robots stride around the place doing that. Would be straight out of sci-fi. Robot horticulture has long been a staple.

mrkrab 9y ago
A step closer to this. http://i.imgur.com/f7hccDn.gif http://i.imgur.com/f7hccDn.gif
- xyrnoble 9y ago
  The premise of the matrix violates the first law of thermodynamics; It's just a plot device.
  - deleted 9y ago
    [deleted]
  - Namrog84 9y ago
    Except although the movie does say battery. That's not the original plot device that was written. They were originally written as human based cpu computers. But some higher up thought people wouldn't understand "human processors" so just everytime you think about or watch the matrix again. Just think it's a poor mistranslation that made it into the movie, "processor->battery"
    - slyall 9y ago
      Of course battery is just what Morpheus and the others from Zion think is the story. Considering how wrong they were on other important matters the battery explanation could easily be wrong and the CPU correct.
  - puranjay 9y ago
    Wasn't there some deleted dialog about this? I'm paraphrasing, but Neo says "that's impossible (in reference to the Matrix) since it violates the laws of thermodynamics" To which Morpheus replies "and where did you learn about the laws of thermodynamics?" If you're in the Matrix, your knowledge of the Matrix would come from the Matrix itself which would have a bias towards falsifying information to preserve itself.

puranjay 9y ago

As someone who lives in a country where 55% of the population is involved in agriculture, it sounds more terrifying than wonderful. What will all these people do once farmers are unnecessary?

kogepathic 9y ago
> What will all these people do once farmers are unnecessary? There aren't that many people working on farms in developed countries. In the US, only around 3 million people (or <1% of the total population) work on a farm. [0] In other countries where many people are involved in agriculture, the pending industrialisation/automation of farming will probably have a similar impact to what happened in North America and Europe over the 20th century: more people will move to urban areas and add value to the economy in other ways. [0] https://www.agcensus.usda.gov/Publications/2012/Online_Resources/Highlights/Farm_Demographics/ https://www.agcensus.usda.gov/Publications/2012/Online_Resou...
- puranjay 9y ago
  I'm talking about India. 55% of the workforce turns into hundreds of millions of people.
noonespecial 9y ago
>What will all these people do once farmers are unnecessary? The answer is "whatever they want". The big problem facing governments everywhere right now is how to jump over the little gully of poverty that comes right after the change to get there.
- oofoe 9y ago
  I'm worried that the "gully of poverty" will be crossed over the bodies of the surplus citizenry.
pix64 9y ago
Farming is already ridiculously automated. Seems like a battle long lost.

bluGill 9y ago

corn is a tall crop, soy beans are short. Farmers are already experimenting with things like 4 rows of corn 4 soybeans. The corn rows shade the soybean rows and so reduce yield - but in turn the soybeans are not shading the corn so they get slightly better corn yields. This is still experimental, but so far it looks promising.

Gibbon1 9y ago

I remember reading Indians of the Northeast planted corn, beans, and melons together. So switching to polycuture crops should have advantages. One other thing I've read is that annual plants were the easiest plants to domesticate because the short life cycle results in faster evolution. However perennials are likely way less environmentally destructive.