Technology: The Future of Agriculture
Technology: The Future of Agriculture A technological revolution in farming led by advances in robotics and sensing technologies looks set to disrupt modern practice. Subject terms: Agriculture Over the centuries, as farmers have adopted more technology in their pursuit of greater yields, the belief that 'bigger is better' has come to dominate farming, rendering small-scale operations impractical. But advances in robotics and sensing technologies are threatening to disrupt today's agribusiness model. “There is the potential for intelligent robots to change the economic model of farming so that it becomes feasible to be a small producer again,” says robotics engineer George Kantor at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Part of Nature Outlook: Food security Twenty-first century robotics and sensing technologie...