Feature: Industrial Electronics Source: belyjmishka/stock.adobe.com


Quanrinted or lithographically patterned


Exploring the world of Agricultural Robots


By Mark Patrick, Director of Technical Content EMEA, Mouser Electronics


W


ith automation picking up the pace in almost every industry, agriculture has experienced a more gradual shiſt. Agricultural activities aren’t always suited for automation, with unpredictable outdoor environments


and certain crops making automating traditional farming tasks incredibly challenging. Harvesting, for example, stubbornly remains a human


endeavour. Te harvesting of hardier crops, such as wheat and corn, has been automated for decades. Crops such as apples,


36 Dec 2024/Jan 2025 www.electronicsworld.co.uk


tomatoes and plums are easily damaged, so harvesting them by hand is oſten still the preferred option. Tat said, further automation of agricultural processes is beginning to accelerate as a result of socioeconomic pull and technological push factors.


The shift in farming technology Multiple factors drive the need for automation in agriculture, from the demand for greater yield to the need to reduce reliance on human labour. Oſten, a combination of these ultimately necessitates the implementation of automated processes. Farms face two labour challenges. One is an ageing workforce,


with only 5.6 per cent of European farms run by farmers younger than 35 and 31 per cent of all farmers over 65. Te other is that farms heavily rely on seasonal workers who are typically employed on temporary contracts. According to the European Economic and Social Committee, there are nearly 2 million EU seasonal workers and over 0.4 million non-EU seasonal workers across agriculture in EU Member States. With increasing global urbanisation, reliance on migrating workforces can place farms at risk. A survey conducted by the National Farmer's Union revealed that in the UK alone, 40 per cent of respondents experienced crop losses due to a shortage of labour. On average, farms were operating with a workforce 14 per cent below their necessary size. Another trend in agriculture is the move away from small, oſten


family-owned farms to large agricultural concerns known as ‘big ag.’ While investments in automation and robotic solutions are more affordable for large agricultural institutes, the outlay can oſten be too much for smaller farms, which inhibits their ability to counter challenges and innovate working practices.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54