A consortium of tech companies including Boston Dynamics and Freshwave have hailed progress in enabling 5G connectivity in rural locations as part of a UK research programme exploring robotics in farming.
The technology companies are working with the National Robotarium, a global AI and robotics research institute housed at Heriot-Watt University, to develop systems using 5G to connect autonomous machines so they can perform precision agriculture tasks.
Scientific crop research organisation the James Hutton Institute and testbed the Scotland 5G Centre round out the consortium which hailed a breakthrough in their work to develop robotic systems for functions including crop health monitoring, targeted fertiliser application and soil condition assessment.
The consortium is investigating how 5G-connected robots could address farming challenges around costs, workforce numbers, regulation and crop demand.
Portable private 5G networks are addressing the connectivity gaps typical in rural areas, the National Robotarium stated. The infrastructure is enabling robots to stream HD video and provide detailed maps of fields, with features being developed to identify disease, pest infestations or water stress faster than traditional monitoring.
The National Robotarium project manager is Ruth Plant. She said the inclusion of portable 5G and robotics “creates opportunities for precision faming that were not previously possible in areas with limited connectivity”.
James Hutton Institute agritech specialist Andrew Christie highlighted the low-latency of 5G as a key factor in a drive towards “data-driven farming practices”, adding the research could ultimately deliver advances “in swarm robotics, real-time sensors for digital twinning and active data processing through cloud computing”.
Source: Mobile World Live
Image Credit: Stock Image
