The farming robots that will feed the world | Hard Reset

Food waste is a ridiculous problem. Enter the robots.
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The agricultural industry is no stranger to automation. Robotics was first introduced into the industry to help guide vehicles in the 1920s, and it's now common for farmers to use GPS-guided planters, sprayers, and combines, not to mention the wide array of automated machines used elsewhere in the agricultural supply chain.
But there's one job that has been prohibitively difficult for robots: picking soft fruit. It requires a delicate and dexterous touch, as well as the ability to maneuver around the plants so that the fruit can be accessed from the best angle.
The UK-based startup Dogtooth Technologies is developing robots with just such abilities. What's more, the robots are able to gently pick berries at night and then deliver them to a chamber where the fruit can be inspected for defects. Freethink explores Dogtooth Technologies and the future of robot farming in this episode of Hard Reset.
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Read more of our stories on the future of agriculture:
Supermarket uses hydroponic farm to grow veggies onsite
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3 ways autonomous farming is driving a new era of agriculture
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Innovative vertical farming companies to watch
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Watch our original series:
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► Just Might Work: freeth.ink/you...
► Challengers: freeth.ink/you...
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[@ropro9817]

It's ironic that strawberries to be picked by humans are grown on the ground but strawberries to be picked by robots are grown at a more convenient and less back breaking waist level.

[@cyrileo]

"It's impressive how far modern technology has come - what a great way to make harvesting more convenient!"

[@KRYMauL]

That's because robotics is still done by engineers, so ergonomics comes into play.

[@garethbaus5471]

Yeah, profits are a significantly better motivator than human well-being in our current economic system.

[@dertythegrower]

Actually, humans pick both... i grow and know these systems. You are comparing outdoor grown to glass house grown hydroponics. 2 different commercial options, and we use it in herb industry also. 👋

[@dertythegrower]

All crops indoors in my industry (herb outdoor and indoor both and greenhouses as well) all 3 options, and greenhouse can be either ground grown or hydroponically. It's all done for most crops which can be grown hydroponic or aquaponically.

[@garethbaus5471]

Picking soft fruit is a significant fraction of the labor used in agriculture specifically because it was one of the few tasks we couldn't automate. On a completely different note the managers at my work have been talking about installing a robot to automate a task.

[@uhitsethan]

Hopefully you keep your job and pay and have to work less. This is how it should be. Robots should be for the benefit of all humans.

[@psychicspy]

@@shadow_rune6178 No, people do get left behind when they listen to people who tell them that they are victims and can't survive without government handouts. People with strong independence will pivot when life hands them lemons.

[@hullinstruments]

​@@psychicspyI don't disagree. But some people might have been born into a situation where no one that came into contact with in their life ever taught them that.

[@hcn6708]

Less we can't automate, more it's cheaper to hire an undocumented immigrant

[@Delosian]

Here in New Zealand we desperately need something like this for apples, pears, kiwifruit, among many other fruits. We now grow so much that we need a huge migrant workforce to fly in, work for several months, and then fly home.

[@cyrileo]

I'm impressed that you have so much fruit production that requires a large number of migrant workers! It's great to see robots like Dogtooth revolutionizing farming.

[@garethbaus5471]

​@@cyrileo New Zealand gets a much larger fraction of its GDP from agriculture than most other developed nations.

[@optiphonic_]

Do we have any companies that are researching this? It would be an interesting field to get in to!

[@cmcgrevyworld9325]

Dogtooth’s technology will have the ability to pick other types of fruit. Watch this space…

[@r.guerreiro140]

So, what's the problems with your migrants? You should be grateful for finding people willing to go there, work, get paid and return home

[@the_j_brett6734]

You cant recruit enough people or you dont want to pay people because it cuts into your profits? Strawberry farms around here expect people to pick their strawberries for free then charge them for the berries.

[@cob571]

"getting harder and harder to find the human labor we need" Sure, when you offer poverty wages so low that only desperate overseas foreign workers will take the jobs

[@dualfluidreactor]

hmmm who buys the strawberries at the supermarket and is price sensitive?

[@dualfluidreactor]

wages for workers are downstream from what the customer is willing to pay. If strawberries are cheap, then strawberry picking is cheap. At a certain price level people won't buy strawberries but will by other fruits instead or even other foods alltogther.

[@Vorexia]

I'd normally agree, but berrypicking is incredibly difficult to turn into a humane job that fits the domestic worker. It demands a huge volume of labour to reap a food that consumers want to buy a lot of but are only willing to pay a low price for per kilogram. Wages COULD be higher for berrypickers, but I don't think they could ever really be high ENOUGH to justify the amount of work they have to do in comparison to most other jobs out there. Another aspect that makes it all difficult is - as mentioned in the video - that it's hard to find workers for seasonal jobs, as most of especially the Western labour force are looking for a permanent, year-round job that they can gain a consistent income from and use as a foundation for their career. Berrypicking jobs are also off to the rurals, nowhere near a commutable distance for most of the workforce: particularly students, who are the most willing to work gigs or seasonal jobs, but have to live relatively close to their high school or university. Even for the farms who are close enough for students, berrypicking season also mostly coincides with a time when students are either working on their finals or just about getting ready to go back to school, which is obviously not favourable. This has made the industry resort to an abnormally high degree of foreign workers. It's kind of understandable, and it has the potential to be an economically productive venture for said workers and for their families. The issue is that foreign workers are extremely exploited by employers. They are known for getting tricked into unfair wages, extorted into working overtime, having to take loans to fund their own flights and meals (which reduces their real income even further), and so on. That's what our authorities have to crack down on.

[@Vorexia]

@@dualfluidreactor You are correct to an extent, but worker compensation depends not only on how valuable their productivity is to the customer, but also on how the revenues are divided. The employer’s interest is to offer the lowest possible wage that workers are willing to accept so that more revenues are turned into increased profits for shareholders. When unions negotiate collective bargaining treaties with companies, the workers they represent become more valuable and get higher wages without it reflecting in a huge price hikes for the consumers. A popular textbook example is the hourly wage difference between McDonald’s workers in Denmark (a more unionised country) and the United States, with that difference not being reflected with a substantial price difference for consumers.

[@AlbertCloete]

They can pay workers 100k a year, no problem. But your strawberries at the supermarket is going to cost 50 times what they do now. So either buyers or producers suffer. Increasing mechanization is a way to increase abundance.

[@gc7644]

"It's getting harder and harder to find the human labor we need" What I hear: "Workers demand reasonable wages and large farm corps won't pay."

[@ottersden1143]

They used to have Polish and Romanian strawberry pickers before Brexit. Can't pay the average Brit that minion salary.

[@1968Christiaan]

I am glad someone mentioned Brexit... this had a dramatic effect on the soft-fruit industry in the UK.

[@psychicspy]

Won't pay and should not be forced to pay higher wages. Workers need to learn more to earn more.

[@yittylittle]

@@psychicspy You're a pencil pusher whos never done a days work in his life. Your accomplishments amount to zero. You silly boomers never know when to hush up.

[@joshuaborner]

@@psychicspy This is such a twisted way of thinking... Do you even realize how little time the average worker has? Do you have any idea how unfulfilling manual labour can be? Do you have any idea what it means to have a family that depends on the little money you make? How blinded do you even have to be to think one could outlearn automation?

[@HandSolitude]

The cost of labour in Morocco is $300 USD per month. You cannot run a robot for that little. The rubbish problem could easily be solved by reducing corruption and funding public cleanup with government money rather than lining the pockets of their politicians.

[@mrsupremegascon]

Morocco salary is so low, because it's a failed state that most Moroccans wants to leave. You don't want the same situation here.

[@BJL2142]

I love it when ceo and execs who make massive incomes off the backs of the pickers are left holding the bags and feel like it's a catastrophe, almost like the employees they take advantage of who have their life costs to pay but can't because of the profiteering off their work done.

[@BJL2142]

@Biker they will do anything to make their costs look good on paper, so they can justify taking more of the cut for themselves

[@gut_ton]

They cant even find enough workers though , remember ?

[@BJL2142]

@@gut_ton they could if they relinquish the profiteering off the work of the pickers, if someone said I'd pay you $30 an hour to pick fruit to me id take it in a heartbeat, I'd be doing something both socially and monetarily rewarding, could be possible if the businesses weren't only interested in achieving maximum profits at the workers expense

[@MustPassTruck]

Our greatest problem is the imbalance in how much people are paid for basic labor vs oligarchs and politicrats.

[@cyrileo]

I agree - but it's inspiring to see how robots and technology are being used to tackle the labor challenge for farmers all over the world!

[@renanfelipedossantos5913]

Not really. Our greatest problem is: who will own the robots. Human labor will soon be obsolete, and therefore relying on wages to sustain most of the population will make no sense. We need to ensure that the abolition of work will bring with it prosperity and dignity for everyone, not only the select few running the robots.

[@flipped6898]

Perhaps food production has relied heavily on government subsidies for decades and has never been very profitable to afford paying out higher wages to workers

[@twochinsmma]

Companies don't care about this. The more people whine about their wages, the more their jobs will get automated. Eventually they'll just be jobless.

[@ocmetals4675]

Automation is great, it's not the problem. The problem is centralization of the benefits. If we can figure out how to decentralize and disperse the benefits of tech, then the future is bright.

[@CampingforCool41]

You are right, but the people benefiting from this will not let go of their wealth easily. It will be a hell of a fight, if we even make it that far.

[@AlecMuller]

Open source is the key. Check out Chris Annin, who open sources his software as well as a good chunk of the hardware. His AR4 robot is similar in complexity to this one, and it's only a matter of time before he or someone else shares software to pick fruit. It can already pick up a combination wrench and hang it on the wall.

[@AlecMuller]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/eYHXqqyZhbynh68

[@machm93]

Robot tax

[@anotherboredperson]

@@machm93 all taxes are added to the cost of the product and passed down to the consumer. Try again.

[@queenscarletc.9701]

"Its getting harder and harder to find people to pick these strawberries" -- Thats a HILARIOUS way to say, companies dont want to pay enough people enough money to do the labor required.

[@1968Christiaan]

I know what you want to say.. but it is not hilarious... and not that simple. Try turning the equation around to get another social aspect. "If we paid people a good wage to do this, Strawberries would be a luxury good for many people. This would lead to fresh strawberries for wealthy people and frozen mushy strawberries for everyone else". Another aspect ? - I saw a great video from Raymond Blanc stating that Plum production in the UK has been cut by a third, because farmers get a lot more money for selling their land for housing.

[@yittylittle]

That's a hilarious way to write the same comment 1000 times on this video Bee Boop 🤖

[@bige8549]

I used to work putting out produce in a grocery store. We had pride in our work, stacking fruit into pyramids with care so that they don’t fall down or get bruised in the process. At the end of this video, I started thinking about utilizing a robot like this in such a scenario, where we set up the open boxes and then the robots stack the fruit overnight while we are sleeping. We check it in the morning. Why not?

[@garethbaus5471]

Robots could also be created and trained to unload the trailers and place the boxes in the correct spots. You would only need a couple of humans to monitor the robots and fix any mistakes.

[@dertythegrower]

That already exists, many moons ago, bigE.

[@dertythegrower]

Boston Robotics already showed that and invented it... two years ago.

[@ayoCC]

Japan, where labour is a lot more expensive have already made an intermediate solution, it's robots that are remotely controlled by people to keep multiple stores in order

[@crowxar]

Because why would they need you if they can just have the robot do it

[@TurdUnicorns]

These videos are amazing, better than some official news agencies. AND ACTUALLY INTERESTING TOPICS!!! Y’all are too underrated 😢

[@freethink]

Thank you! We're glad you're enjoying them!

[@yittylittle]

I thought it was sensational and dense.

[@TheTarrMan]

Those robots could also laser bugs to remove the need for pesticides. To reduce water usage they could also be used to deliver it more precisely. Maybe it will even decide to skip some plants that don't need it.

[@cyrileo]

I like the idea! It's amazing to see how intelligent robots can be with water and pest management.

[@julianDogtooth]

Lasers...how did we miss that idea?! :) You've picked a brilliant use case though. The data the robots gather during their operations is extremely valuable to farmers and, like you say, can lead to a per-plant approach to farming. Allowing identification of problem areas amongst the crop and detailed forecasting of growing yields. This is a big win in a world with ever squeezed resources and endemic issues such as pesticide resistance. Ultimately resulting in reduced food waste and maximised food production.

[@yittylittle]

i wish to send you to a camp

[@mikebikekite1]

@@julianDogtooth A small blast of very hot air should also kill the insect but leave less damage on the plant. Would you do better by ignoring "muddy" environments and aiming your robots more at hydroponic vertical farms? You'd be avoiding the difficulties of natural environments while selling to more forward thinking farmers. Can the speed of picking by improved?

[@tabsterg]

I love how every time there's an agricultural breakthrough people say stuff like _"this (new tech) will feed the world!!!"_ as if we don't already produce enough food to end world hunger but still throw a perfectly edible most of it into landfills or cows for profit. like our tech and resources and knowledge and labour has already conquered scarcity, it just profits no-one to actually help people in need. This robots will make it cheaper for _some_ to produce more food, it won't make it cheaper or more available.

[@tabsterg]

@user-hi3um6dh1y ah yes i hate it when people don't even go to work under threat of starvation these snowflake commies would rather starve than just get a job that is a very easy thing to do since there is lots of job opportunities around

[@vitancernjacsubotic3811]

That's what we get when the only motivation is profit. Line must go up.

[@rihadalif]

_"I'll be using metric system when I buy drugs"_ _"Never bought a kilo of drugs just to be clear"_ Hmmmm....

[@anotherboredperson]

"Inability to recruit enough pickers" sounds an awful lot like "wont pay a living wage"

[@seane6616]

You dont understand economics, if they pay more, then the fruit costs more, and if it costs more, less people buy it, if less people buy it, they may not recoup their costs. The woke virus has destroyed your mind

[@crowxar]

The wage to pick some strawberries isn't worth a living wage.

[@anotherboredperson]

@@crowxar "Those who work this job dont deserve to live" isnt a very attractive offer

[@anotherboredperson]

@Biker probably less than 30k per year

[@yosemitesam9576]

@@anotherboredperson Its almost as if menial labor like this is never worth a living wage lol

[@cominoengenharia]

Will they really feed 'the world', or as usual, feed the 'market world'? How will the people who are losing their work be fed? Will the workers of the world have ways of feeding their families? These are not rethorical questions, but propositions to include in the process of advancing technology.

[@CTOOFBOOGLE]

Unfortunately people at risk of losing their jobs to these robots also lack the resources to influence the direction of technological development. These robots will not feed the world, they will further concentrate resources in the hands of the very few.

[@jonathanravenhilllloyd2070]

Sadly the savings of using robot harvesters will be absorbed by the FarmCorp or Retailers. Yep. Like he says, automation will only be used to increase profits and remove livelihoods. Unless we start taxing automation, and roll out UBI.

[@bobwallace9753]

Or robots will make it easier to produce food and more people will get into farming. Competition will drive down prices and robotic workers will bring down costs making it cheaper to produce. We will need something like a UBI to support the humans whose labor will no longer be needed and will have no value. Eventually that will be everyone. Robots are going to provide incredibly cheap "labor".

[@Chillerll]

We do need UBI because this stuff is the future, whether we like it or not. Robots replace physical labor while AI is replacing the rest. Literally nobody is save of automatization and it comes at us fast.

[@psalmy26]

Don't tax automation specifically, removing the need to work is sabotaged by that. Just tax corps.

[@bobwallace9753]

@@joaovmlsilva3509 Mechanization in agriculture has made it possible for a massive amount more food to be produced by one person. Those no longer needed farm workers have moved into factory/other jobs or are now populating many of our city slums throughout the world. Automation has eliminated many other jobs from factory workers to file clerks to typesetters to graphic artists and on and on. But to a large extent we have been able to invent new jobs in more affluent countries/regions as simpler jobs have been turned over to machery. But now we are facing something that we've only thought about in science fiction - intelligent robots. Robots that are more intelligent and better performers than humans. Robots that can be manufactured for only a few thousand dollars and that will be able to work 24/365 for decades. Their capital and maintenance costs will be so low that humans will be priced out of (probably) all labor markets from ag to industry to medicine. It's coming fast. And when intelligent humanoid robots arrive in mass human labor will cease to have value. We have to figure out a new way to distribute goods and services. Most people will find that they will have no way to earn an income. It's hard to see how we exist with only a small number of corporations owning the robots, there will be no customers for their products since almost everyone will be unemployed. It's a tough nut we are going to have to crack. The only solution I've come up with is for groups of people (governments) owning the robots and acquiring the raw materials we need, do the manufacturing, and give each person some number of credits to use as they please to purchase what they want. Very quickly some people are going to put a very distasteful label on that solution. We should require those opposed to develop a better system. There may be one that we haven't thought of yet.

[@bobwallace9753]

@@joaovmlsilva3509 You've now touched the third rail. I tried to avoid doing that. 😄 I don't see a solution other than communal ownership and for the most part equal credit distribution. There will be no customers to support an owner class. The transition would be bumpy and might take time as those who own a lot of stuff will resist until they understand that there are fewer and fewer people they can rely on to support their wealth. Or, perhaps, someone will figure out a better way. The cost of labor will drop to almost nothing. The cost of energy will drop to almost nothing. The cost of goods and services will follow energy and labor costs downward. As we move to recycling the cost of materials will decline and those new raw materials we need will be extracted and processed by intelligent machines. Tesla should be able to manufacture their intelligent humanoid robot for less than $5k (my envelope math). Assume they sell for a massively profitable $20k. $20k / 24 hours / 365 days / 10 years = $0.23 per hour.

[@pspreng]

This looks like it could be a good fit for separating plastic containers by the methods for recycling needed at city garbage disposal plants.

[@jewiesnew3786]

There is a lot of manpower available out there, but a decent paying work is what's actually missing.

[@muscleman369]

It's because your jobs suck.. no incentive, low pay, no insurance etc etc. People are tired of working their lives away for peanuts and no advancement. They would rather be broke at home vs broke at work.

[@HelamanGile]

These will be the cleanest strawberries ever

[@erikanderson1402]

We can literally feed the world now, but we choose not to. Cool robots though

[@MustangKepler]

The story of How he got idea and built this great as much as it can be is awesome 😂🎉.

[@mrmoneyhacks5480]

One worker from the Philippines could pick the whole row before the machine has finished with the first bush. Just optimize their travel and living arrangements and you'll be all sweet.

[@simmonslucas]

It won't matter how fast we grow, we won't feed the world. To feed the world, you have set out to feed the world as a goal.

[@savesoil3133]

#SaveSoil #ConsciousPlanet

[@FellVoice]

Automation is the first step toward a post scarcity society that frees up humans from having to do mundane life wasting tasks and the sooner the better.

[@pedroz3891]

We hope so...sadly for some strange reason, up until now when automation comes people end up losing their job and having even a harder time, and only the owners of the robot getting richer. If we had a less greedy society we could almost be there already 😐

[@FellVoice]

@@pedroz3891 Up to a certain point yes but when the competition between corporations to undercut each other to reduce costs, human labor being the highest one, reaches a saturation point it will become inevitable because there won't be enough people with jobs to buy the crap they're producing with robots. It will be a scary time but all transitions are and our leaders will try everything they can to hold onto the ideals of capitalism but it will just be a memory and they'll have no choice but to move past it to post scarcity. Our government does some stupid stuff like during the Great Depression when people needed food they actually paid farmers not to grow so that the food that was grown would maintain stable market share....sigh.

[@Ilamarea]

"Post scarcity" is a codename for human extinction. People with no purpose, no contribution - and that's literally all of us - will simply disappear. We will be allowed to starve to death, with everyone watching. We will be starving on the other side of the fence from millions of tons of rotting strawberries because nobody will be able to afford to buy them and the Evil Corp behind this "progress" will never surrender profits.

[@ayoCC]

​@@pedroz3891new generations won't consider that path, in the meantime we need strong severance laws. In Japan firing people is basically illegal, so there's much different effects because of that. Businesses try to bully people into quitting but they will never fire. Theyll send them away into remote places and accuse them of things, make them not someone the colleagues should interact with. Hiring someone is a serious commitment, thus the job will be something that will be required for a long time and made with a careful view on developments in the country, stores in Japan for example are restocked by robots. One person is remotely controlling them for like 5 stores

[@FellVoice]

@@Ilamarea Actually no. Post scarcity can only come about with the extinction of the profit motive and thus the corporation and capitalism. Automation is slowly killing capitalism but corporations and governments are too stuck in the past to just usher in the future. the breaking point will be when corporations supplant enough workers with robots and AI that there won't be enough people with enough money to buy the products these things produce. You see, money and the profit motive is what's holding back from true freedom. In a post scarcity environment that field of strawberries won't be rotting in any field, they and all other products will be distributed to the people according to need and location and if there aren't enough then more will be grown to meet demand until stasis between supply and demand is achieved. And food will be grown as locally as possible according to what grows best in that area to minimize wasting energy shipping things unnecessarily far and only things that have to be shipped will be according to demand and available resources, no more shipping food half way around the world when it can be grown closer to it's point of demand and this will be cause money will be a thing of the past along with class structures and governments. A post scarcity world is one where everyone is important unlike the capitalist nightmare we live in today where people will be left to starve if someone can't make a cent off of it. Take the Great depression for instance, in a time when people needed food the government paid farmers not to grow to maintain market share for the ones who did grow. That's the kind of insanity we put up with so someone can join the billionaire club.

[@rafaelmoreno9597]

Is it that they were not finding enough people to work, or they did not want to pay a human enough to work the fields? At this point, it's a joke that the very few people who stand to profit significantly from the elimination of human workers, say that there is a lack of humans to work when its the exact opposite.

[@TrippSaaS]

I want a farm with a robot and greenhouse with apartments built around it so everyone in the apartment gets fresh produce just as an amenity of living there. Absolutely brilliant stuff.

[@Rctdcttecededtef]

How would the greenhouse get sunlight

[@ocmetals4675]

@@Rctdcttecededtefthe greenhouse could be on the rooftop.

[@Ilamarea]

What you'll get instead will be mass starvation because the corporations that own the robots and form monopolies will skyrocket prices and all the people without jobs or any type of income won't be able to afford a visit at a grocery store let alone to live in a fancy, futuristic apartment. The slums of the third world will become the standard in the "developed" world. We are doomed. And that's before wars for resources and then CGAI causing our inevitable, unavoidable extinction.

[@kinvert]

Did you do calculations for how much it would raise the rent?

[@yittylittle]

Maybe you can test it out for us in the next life. I would suggest a bottle of benzos and a strong drink.

[@thatguychris5654]

Freeing up all people from physical, mundane labor is good in theory. However, not all people would excel pursuing intellectual alternatives. The assumption here is that all people want to, or even can, progress this way. Personally, I prefer to grow my garden.

[@m0ckingB1rd42]

Correction: It’s not that they can’t find workers. It’s that they don’t want immigrants. And, besides that, what will happen to the people who did these jobs? The farmers and the pickers? What you allow them to do to the least powerful, they will do to you too.

[@justgivemethetruth]

Someone made the point is that the work is so seasonal that there is not enough work to keep people working all year round.

[@yittylittle]

Imagine thinking the powers that be give a single iota about a few million farm migrants. Not only can they not be touched, but they laugh, and they laugh, at everything you just said.

[@caseymead9399]

The cost of strawberries will go up but the wages for fruit pickers will go down.

[@MP-lz1xb]

"The cost of fruit wasted last year in the U.K. [...] was about 35 million pounds." It will take us at least another generation to collectively understand that the cost is not measured in pounds but in fruit wasted.

[@wholeness]

More reason to upgrade humans beyond picking strawberries when they could be raising their children

[@dertythegrower]

Great topic, this is a huge revolution now.. cropsteering and the age of abundance. robots will drastically improve all crops quality and yield now, with sensors on them... and also automated wireless sensors in rural farms will greatly improve yields because farmers can discover issues before they became larger. It's awesome, I talk to many coders who make sensors for commercial size grows like this.. its getting awesome. People will have grows miniature inside their kitchens soon, its going to be sweet for everyone to have everything to succeed.

[@JK-dx7ex]

Hey derty 🗣holla from Mi ✋🏻

[@freethink]

We think so too! One French startup recently developed a robot to help improve crop quality, it's trained to spot threats, monitor growth, and identify signs that the plant might need more or less water and nutrientsit. It can cover about 50 acres a day. We posted an article about it last month if you're curious to read more: www.freethink.com/robots-ai/agricultural-robot

[@cyrileo]

Wow, that sounds amazing! It sure will be sweet when everyone can have a successful mini-grow at their fingertips.

[@garethbaus5471]

Most of the kitchen sized ones aren't worth the effort of automating.

[@dertythegrower]

@@JK-dx7ex 🤙

[@jadedrealist]

Love watching your videos in the morning. That buttery voice. The cool topics. All gold.

[@justgivemethetruth]

Massive berry production with make the world healthier and happier. I grow blueberries in my backyard, and the main bother, other than birds, is the fact that they all riped at different rates, meaning it can take a long time to go our and pick a bowl ful of blueberries.

[@marcelgamon6777]

I really hope that factorys like this will growing very fast in every country.

[@jasonjohnson4803]

This is informative and interesting at the sametime. As a future Automation and Robotics Engineer this is encouraging.

[@SwornInvictus]

There's not a labor shortage, it's that taxes and regulations eat into margins so much that we can't afford to pay people enough.

[@aaronknight1009]

"Our robots can do all the physical tasks humans normally did, freeing up humans for the thinking and interacting tasks they do so well" ChatGPT enters the room - "sit back down, I got this"

[@thomasmanning9111]

The hosts voice is the best ever!!

[@person3728]

Couldn’t find pickers because you didn’t pay them enough compared to cost of living?

[@Tmesis___19]

This thing won’t make life easier, but the money in your pockets smaller along with the size of your apartment, in contrast to price of grocery’s and rent which all become larger. This technology is only good if it works for us not against us. I honestly dread videos like this more then they excite me

[@zasta7]

0:46 This is probably the first time I've noticed that a robot has took the place of a job that nobody was taking. A job that wasn't harmless or anything, but just not enough people willing to do. My respect for robots just increased.

[@ellingeidbo8469]

Oh look! That will definitely fix the "lack of nutrition in under ripened produce that's then chemically treated to look ripe" problem. Yay modern technology. I'll be growing my own.

[@SheepWaveMeByeBye]

They will be illegal soon. Some government official will inform you that your field with strawberries could be better used to plant nature and fight global warming. They want us all in the cities.

[@KyleBehse]

That was worth the watch just to hear him talk about the metric system!! ;-)

[@DataRew]

The reason they can't find workers to pick strawberries is because those jobs are not paid a living wage, not because we "can't find the labor."

[@afz902k]

I love automation, from a technical standpoint. But it's kinda funny these companies would rather lose money letting food go to waste, or develop a robotic worker, than just increasing wages to get more people to sign up as pickers. It's almost absurd!

[@DataRew]

@@afz902k lol "Almost" :D

[@jay5954]

Yeah, the main thing corporations and governments love to ignore and then wonder why industries shut down and imports become vital. We had a similar thing in Australia with the car manufacturering industry and now we're stuck paying double what we used to for cars. A yaris now is $30kaud and used to be sub $15kaud, it's insane. Our food system is on the verge of collapse too since we couldn't get the immigrant labour we needed through covid and the climate changes affecting farm lands creating huge losses. Tech like this is one solution, whether it's the only, or best, one idk?

[@kinvert]

@@afz902k You could start your own farm, pay the laborers more, and put the other farms out of business with your better system. You should try it.

[@seane6616]

@@kinvert You;re an idiot, you dont create a system, have it be more economically inefficient with higher labor costs, and put others out of business. You will have to sell your stuff at a higher price, you wont be able to compete if people care about how much they spend, which they mostly do

[@Jsternshow]

Aren't most strawberries grown outside. These robots are made for a nice neat factory farm.

[@barkindustry8150]

HAHAHAHA The "WHAT" after the "I've never seen Start Wars". I'm crying! You sounded so offended, I love it!

[@yeojoohua1762]

Can be so possible that they pick a strawberry , drop into a mini basket , pick again another 3 - 4 strawberries before transferring all back to the main basket , could save a lot of time

[@AstoundingYeti]

Seems like they ditched the whole picking up garbage thing once they realized there was more money in replacing farm laborers

[@snoopaka]

Great episode. Lots to think about.

[@freethink]

Thank you! We're glad you enjoyed it.

[@vidalskyociosen3326]

There should be Robot right, so we can avoid over heating and over labored robots, give them rest, and rights.

[@eironross]

"So my wasted teenage years weren't so wasted" That is inspiring hahaa

[@eironross]

This is very interesting using ML and CV in agriculture.

[@21preend42]

We are slowly moving towards an utopia. When most of the work is replaced by ai and robots, universal income would be a must and then people would have a lot more time to do whatever they want and some create and innovate.

[@ThisIsToolman]

The social implications of technology are manifold but technology will move forward irrespective. My hope is that reasonable people will dedicate similar effort in addressing the problems caused. We start that process here by discussing it.

[@cyrileo]

"Yes, the implications of technology go far beyond the scope of the robot, but it's heartening to see the positive impacts robotics can have in addressing real world problems!"

[@AlexB-nw7jt]

If this was built in a circle or spiral, could natural sunlight be let in and the strawberries be grown vertically?

[@semikolondev]

"it's hard to find the human labor" No it ain't. JUST FOKIN PAY THEM CORRECTLY.

[@powercatsp]

Where's the graph that shows that as humans have become more productive we're actually paid less? It's incredible to think that this could take off and revolutionize but you know what you don't have to do for robots-- pay livable wages. Companies pocket these insane profits now and more and more people are living in poverty. I think the average wages in the UK is something just under 25K pounds. That's nuts.

[@cyrileo]

"That's a great way to put it Sahdah, it's definitely something worth considering if robots are going to become part of our food production process!"

[@DurandsDesigns]

Most farms in the future should be vertical farms in cities close to where people live. They will be mostly run by robots.

[@paulharvey4403]

This is a great solution, however, it is totally reliant on a supply of low-cost energy I wonder where that will come from?

[@wa7john]

Each robot will have its own mini nuc power plant..oh yeah and a solar cell. 😀

[@7200darkcharm]

Battery pack, when the power gets low, have the robot return to the power station to get a new battery. The charging station can be powered by solar or wind.

[@allister5643]

"It's getting harder AnD HaRdEr tO fiNd fhe human labor we need" More like it's getting harder and harder for you to pay them. Clearly it is, the company would *rather take losses* from not being able to pick the product than pay enough for the labor.

[@cobanus2862]

To expensive and won’t work. Energy is already beyond unaffordable

[@someguydino6770]

Hey, sorry this is simply a ridiculous application of such EXPENSIVE and fragile tech. A few days ago while driving to work in steady rain @ 50F, I observed hundreds of people in raincoats standing in miles of muddy fields picking strawberries. There's no way that the work could have been done at the same scale via mechanical automation. Experiences like this have also made me aware that no matter what I do as an design engineer at work; it will NEVER be as difficult as what those hardworking souls do everyday working in those fields.

[@first-thoughtgiver-of-will2456]

Automation and abundance of automation requires policy change for welfare, education and work opportunities but it is sustainable and important.

[@lostinbravado]

We build Robots -> We build Robots which think -> Thinking robots replace us in all productive capacities and do a far better job -> Due to the abundance created by this automation systems such as Universal Basic Income become possible and poverty finally ends in most countries -> We begin to integrate Thinking Robots into everything we do -> Some integrate thinking robotics into their biology -and the line between Thinking Robots and life begins to blur -> Decades down the line we longer consider robotics/technology and biology to be separate things -> We continue on as if nothing has changed

[@cyrileo]

Wow, that's quite a journey! Amazing to see how far automation could take us!

[@kyneticist]

You've missed the part where those who reap the rewards of that abundance have any incentive or any reason to share it. The world has had more than enough food and money to share for decades and the lot of those with less has only become worse. There are innumerable examples of those with more taking from those with less and also doing their level best to impoverish them further.

[@duke605]

Glad basically everyone in the comments is picking up on “can’t find enough workers” is corporate speak for “can’t find people that want to work for peanuts”

[@highlander723]

artificial intelligence is going to replace us. I'm not talking about rogue AI destroying the Earth or skynet situation or anything. What I'm talking about is it's ability to replace people's livelihoods. pick for example farming You got robots second picked strawberries now. You got tractors that practically run by themselves guided by GPS. You build a robot that can plant the seeds too. another robot that'll get rid of the pest. You got fully automated farming. The farmers aren't needed anymore. look at artists You have AI that can produce an artwork in 10 minutes where it takes a human artist's days. Not to mention you don't have to pay the commission. look at programming a few words into chat GTP and I've got an entire program that would have taken a regular programmer days to do. Guess we don't need programmers anymore. Don't think the robot designers are safe either. eventually these robots are going to start designing themselves for specific tasks. Not everybody could be a scientist explorer mathematician eventually the people that are early good for labor or either going to have to be taken care of..... culled from the herd.

[@rickfastly2671]

Thats a pretty scary reality. But I imagine humans making themselves smarter through gene editing.

[@cyrileo]

I think AI advancements can create opportunities, but we need to take care of those whose jobs are replaced in the process.

[@VestigialHead]

They cannot get enough pickers because they do not pay enough and provide shitty work conditions.

[@johnmartinsen963]

Hopefully the robots will figure out how to grow nutrient dense glyphosate-free products, but at this point I wouldn't eat that stuff...it's basically "processed" food.

[@robertdoell4321]

Here is a Positive Remark. Have your robot place the fruit on a slight Decline and your Evaluation lights over the decline to make the decision as the robot releases the fruit and then have different routes to good punnets or bad or to be further investigated punnets. Faster drops and evaluations leads to faster picking interactions.

[@Helena-ou8ry]

Who are you kidding, I feel nostalgic every time I see footage of farmers in America and England, and their workers. Trust me this is already here now in Australia and they don’t have to do it indoors. Catch up!

[@new-bp6ix]

let fix this "getting harder and harder to find the human labor works for free "

[@ItComeFromWithin]

I like how they don’t question wasting massive amount of money to do things like this but god forbid they actually just raise wages instead.

[@tristanmoller9498]

Britain is having problems because of the Brexit. The people, who would come in to do the work weren’t allowed anymore.

[@marcusm8009]

No waste. Strawberry juice and jam.

[@hiss9989]

The less poverty and third world countries there are, the less workers we will have for this crap

[@biswaborkakoty]

Automation is the future... and each citizen of the world should own 2 or 3 similar robots, that will give them free income without the hardwork...

[@hullinstruments]

I've worked with a lot of pick-and-place machines for surface mount electronic parts. If they can make them as fast as they have for the last 30 years..... Picking up tiny ant-like specks of electronics parts and distributing them faster than you can see...... Then these fruit robots will be going light speed in no time. Just getting things accurate first... and then ramp up the speed from there like happened with "pick and place" technology

[@ince55ant]

imaginary figures BUT this robot looks about 20 times slower than a human.

[@nataliaregina3094]

haha I respect that so much! There are tons of things I know references for but haven't spent the time to see also - that's honestly fine!

[@herzogsbuick]

Dear Ed Herbert: We should have a beer. I, unfortunately, have been subjected to 4 or 5 of the Star Wars movies. They are something to write home about solely to warn your friends and loved ones to not waste their time. I've seen far more imaginative and realistic dialog written on toilet stalls at transport cafes. (hope I translated bathroom stall walls and truck stops correctly). Stay the course. You're actually making things. Your new friend, Jay Straw

[@maxJnrPille]

The abilities of the Human population is a spectrum of different levels and always will be. Yes, these strawberry picking Robots will only displace a few thousand workers who will probably find another role somewhere else providing they can afford to move to the new role. The time will come when Robots will be put in more and more places and eventually there will no longer be another role.

[@kchoi10]

Can someone for once in these videoes share the economics of robotics in agriculture? This all sounds good, but no farmer is going to do this unless it's profitable.

[@thedude7319]

You can always find enough people the breaking point is the pay. but what are the common agreed upon ideas when all work is automated, who will purchased stuff ?

[@strobotics]

Not sure if my comment is filtered. The dialog is "how much of this was designed by you?" andwer "all of it". That is not true. The arm is based on the ST Robotics R12, designed by me and built by dogtooth under license.

[@alvegutt42]

this will make living off grid a lot more awesome

[@martynhaggerty2294]

Definitely a revolution... never seen star wars?

[@JK-dx7ex]

Theses are the robots 🤖 that will help humans. Yes! So much time is lost in trying to under staff all the tasks to serve basic needs of humans. I envision machines to help in farming and cleaning. Most of the people do not want to do these task, and are time is so valuable, and the cost to pay labor vs the ability for machine to duplicate the hands of people. The cost to time ratio is not equal.

[@cyrileo]

"I totally agree! I'm glad that robots can lend a hand to make our workload lighter and more efficient. 🤖"

[@luv2dancesalsa465]

Awesome!!! Reminds me of my favorite movie as a kiddo… Silent Running. I think robots will allow humans to THINK. We’re smart and capable… and IMPORTANT. This means I absolutely do appreciate humans ability to look at the punnets/clamshells/plastic boxes fruit comes in where an anomaly is spotted by robots to quickly figure out the issue and send it on its merry way… to the consumer or the compost bin. My vision, my Utopia, is people living lives of creativity and respite focused on improving life all around. We’ve already proven we can do tedious tasks so I hope there will always be someone willing to do this stuff… because it’s meditative, peaceful and joyful to them. And the robots migrate. People settle where they choose to support their passions, friends, families and humanity.

[@cyrileo]

That's a very inspiring vision! Let's make it happen!

[@REAL-UNKNOWN-SHINOBI]

Or maybe used in Europe to replace all of the farmers that are protesting over the emission requirements.

[@wilsonfineart]

Great story. How about a version without the background music?

[@hunter21331]

Highly support it

[@derrickjohnson4952]

As much as the fear of workers losing jobs does suck I hope this tech gets bigger & cheaper so there can actually be more co-op farms or at least farms with esop (employee stock ownership programs)

[@eliezdana4716]

Robot becoming more precision. Just imagine the world full of automation in High Workforce Industry. Then suddenly the civilization collapse because natural disaster and few thousand years later our achievement as a civilization become ancient civilization.

[@jaanikaapa6925]

Imagine if the pickers were compensated properly for their labour.

[@derrickjohnson4952]

Imagine if the pickers ban together & buy or rent the same automation equipment then share the profits and now they have an option to either work for (traditionally run firm) someone or with (worker co-ops) someone. Of course some will lose jobs but I do kinda see more independent workers or small farms competing

[@ryanthompson3737]

Nobody would be able to afford strawberries. That's what happens when you take workers compensation and turn them into your profits. Doesn't matter if they paid us the right amount of money, THEY will never take a cut and not even the UK government can force them to. Great... I'll just move to China or Russia, or to some other poor country... when billionaires can just MOVE to avoid those requirements, there's nothing we can do.

[@youtubesucks8024]

“We’ll g*ddamn” 😅 basically the soundtrack to my life.

[@erikm9768]

Of course they want to replace workers, they are just afraid of saying that out loud

[@lunaletuna]

let robots do jobs and we create art Our hobbies Let people have community farm robots And have their repairs be on that community