Photo: Collected
Will Mumford is a fifth-generation farmer from St Neots, Cambridgeshire, UK. Driverless tractors using artificial intelligence (AI) technology. He is said to be one of the first users of this type of tractor in the UK. He used this tractor to plant seeds and cultivate farmland.
According to Will Mumford, this 'robot' is the future of agriculture and farming. Because they can run for up to 30 hours at a time. And the loss of agricultural land is also very low. However, it is said that due to the high price, there is a lot of apprehension about whether all the farmers can use this tractor or not. The UK's National Farmers' Union says, 'We welcome technological advances' but it is also important that products are affordable.
Now each driverless tractor costs between 180,000 to 320,000 pounds. Due to this high cost, most of the farmers will not be interested in using this machine. Will Mumford is managing director of a company that supplies driverless tractors. According to him, the agricultural sector's reliance on heavy machinery has negative implications. Because heavy machinery damages soil structure and biodiversity. Light equipment protects the soil from this side. As a result, driverless tractors are environmentally friendly and good for the soil. If such a tractor is used, the soil structure can be protected by farming more sustainably.
Driverless tractors are typically about half the size of conventional tractors. Apart from this, the driverless tractor has radar, ultrasound, and sensors. As a result, it stops immediately when it comes in contact with an object.
Mumford says the use of AI technology in agriculture will not harm the farmer. Rather, AI will free farmers from time-consuming and tedious tasks, and farmers will have time to think about other things. They will not need to sit on the tractor seat for long periods of time.
Agricultural engineer Tom Cornell says new technologies, including driverless tractors, typically take five years to become widely used. At first, a handful of farmers will benefit and trust the technology. Then with time, this technology will become very common and familiar.
Source: Online/GFMM
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