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UK-RAS White papers © UK-RAS 2018 ISSN 2398-4422 DOI 10.31256/WP2018.2 Agricultural Robotics: The Future of Robotic Agriculture www.ukras.org // Agricultural Robotics Agricultural Robotics // UKRAS.ORG // Agricultural Robotics FOREWORD Welcome to the UK-RAS White Paper the automotive and aerospace sectors wider community and stakeholders, as well Series on Robotics and Autonomous combined. Agri-tech companies are already as policy makers, in assessing the potential Systems (RAS). This is one of the core working closely with UK farmers, using social, economic and ethical/legal impact of activities of UK-RAS Network, funded by technology, particularly robotics and AI, to RAS in agriculture. the Engineering and Physical Sciences help create new technologies and herald Research Council (EPSRC). new innovations. This is a truly exciting It is our plan to provide annual updates time for the industry as there is a growing for these white papers so your feedback By bringing together academic centres of recognition that the significant challenges is essential - whether it is to point out excellence, industry, government, funding facing global agriculture represent unique inadvertent omissions of specific areas of bodies and charities, the Network provides opportunities for innovation, investment and development that need to covered, or to academic leadership, expands collaboration commercial growth. suggest major future trends that deserve with industry while integrating and further debate and in-depth analysis. Please coordinating activities at EPSRC funded This white paper aims to provide an direct all your feedback to whitepaper@ RAS capital facilities, Centres for Doctoral overview of the current impact and ukras.org. We look forward to hearing Training and partner universities. challenges facing Agri-tech, as well as from you! associated ethical considerations. We hope The recent commitment of a £90million the paper will provide the reader with an investment by the government overview of the current trends, technological (Transforming Food Production Challenge advances, as well as barriers that may through the Industrial Strategy) supports the impede the sector’s full potential. We have idea that Agri-tech is a burgeoning market, included recommendations to some of the and we are proud to be exploring the use of challenges identified and hope this paper robotics in this important sector, employing provides a basis for discussing the future Prof Guang-Zhong Yang, CBE, FREng almost 4 million people and larger than technological roadmaps, engaging the Chairman, UK-RAS Network Tom Duckett, Simon Pearson, Simon Blackmore Bruce Grieve, University of Lincoln, University of Lincoln, Harper Adams University, University of Manchester, [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Contributions: Wen-Hua Chen (Loughborough University), Grzegorz Cielniak (University of Lincoln), Jason Cleaversmith (Akva Group Scotland), Jian Dai (King’s College London), Steve Davis (University of Salford), Charles Fox (University of Lincoln), Pål From (University of Lincoln), Ioannis Georgilas (University of Bath), Richie Gill (University of Bath), Iain Gould (University of Lincoln), Marc Hanheide (University of Lincoln), Alan Hunter (University of Bath), Fumiya Iida (Cambridge University), Lyudmila Mihalyova (Sheffield University), Samia Nefti-Meziani (University of Salford), Gerhard Neumann (University of Lincoln), Paolo Paoletti (University of Liverpool), Tony Pridmore (University of Nottingham), Dave Ross (Scotland’s Rural College), Melvyn Smith (University of the West of England), Martin Stoelen (University of Plymouth), Mark Swainson (University of Lincoln), Sam Wane (Harper Adams University), Peter Wilson (University of Bath), Isobel Wright (University of Lincoln). Agricultural Robotics // EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Agri-Food is the largest manufacturing within the domain. However, there are important for Agri-Food since success sector in the UK. It supports a food chain particular barriers to overcome to secure in the sector requires highly complex that generates over £108bn p.a., with 3.9m this vision: cross-disciplinary activity. Furthermore, employees in a truly international industry within UKRI many of the Research 1. The UK RAS community with an and exports £20bn of UK manufactured Councils and Innovate UK directly fund interest in Agri-Food is small and highly goods. However, the global food chain is different aspects of Agri-Food, but as yet dispersed. There is an urgent need under pressure from population growth, there is no coordinated and integrated to defragment and then expand the climate change, political pressures affecting Agri-Food research policy per se. community. migration, population drift from rural to Our vision is a new generation of smart, urban regions and the demographics of an 2. The UK RAS community has no specific flexible, robust, compliant, interconnected aging global population. These challenges training paths or Centres for Doctoral robotic and autonomous systems working are recognised in the UK Industrial Strategy Training to provide trained human seamlessly alongside their human co- white paper and backed by significant resource capacity within Agri-Food. workers in farms and food factories. Teams investment via a Wave 2 Industrial of multi-modal, interoperable robotic Challenge Fund Investment (“Transforming 3. While there has been substantial systems will self-organise and coordinate Food Production: from Farm to Fork”). government investment in translational their activities with the “human in the Robotics and Autonomous Systems activities at high Technology Readiness loop”. Electric farm and factory robots with (RAS) and associated digital technologies Levels (TRLs), there is insufficient interchangeable tools, including low-tillage are now seen as enablers of this critical ongoing basic research in Agri-Food solutions, soft robotic grasping technologies food chain transformation. To meet these RAS at low TRLs to underpin onward and sensors, will support the sustainable challenges, this white paper reviews the innovation delivery for industry. intensification of agriculture, drive state of the art in the application of RAS in 4. There is a concern that RAS for Agri- manufacturing productivity and underpin Agri-Food production and explores research Food is not realising its full potential, future food security. and innovation needs to ensure these as the projects being commissioned technologies reach their full potential currently are too few and too small- To deliver this vision the research and and deliver the necessary impacts in the scale. RAS challenges often involve the innovation needs include the development Agri-Food sector. complex integration of multiple discrete of robust robotic platforms, suited to agricultural environments, and improved The opportunities for RAS range include; technologies (e.g. navigation, safe capabilities for sensing and perception, the development of field robots that can operation, grasping and manipulation, planning and coordination, manipulation assist workers by carrying payloads and perception). There is a need to further and grasping, learning and adaptation, conduct agricultural operations such as develop these discrete technologies interoperability between robots and existing crop and animal sensing, weeding and but also to deliver large-scale industrial machinery, and human-robot collaboration, drilling; integration of autonomous applications that resolve integration including the key issues of safety and user systems technologies into existing farm and interoperability issues. The UK acceptance. operational equipment such as tractors; community needs to undertake a few well-chosen large-scale and robotic systems to harvest crops and Technology adoption is likely to occur in collaborative “moon shot” projects. conduct complex dextrous operations; measured steps. Most farmers and food the use of collaborative and “human in 5. The successful delivery of RAS producers will need technologies that the loop” robotic applications to augment projects within Agri-Food requires can be introduced gradually, alongside worker productivity; advanced robotic close collaboration between the RAS and within their existing production applications, including the use of soft community and with academic and systems. Thus, for the foreseeable future, robotics, to drive productivity beyond industry practitioners. For example, humans and robots will frequently operate the farm gate into the factory and retail the breeding of crops with novel collaboratively to perform tasks, and that environment; and increasing the levels of phenotypes, such as fruits which are collaboration must be safe. There will be automation and reducing the reliance on easy to see and pick by robots, may a transition period in which humans and human labour and skill sets, for example, simplify and accelerate the application of robots work together as first simple and in farming management, planning and RAS technologies. Therefore, there is an then more complex parts of work are decision making. urgent need to seek new ways to create conducted by robots, driving productivity and enabling human jobs to move up the RAS technology has the potential to RAS and Agri-Food domain networks value chain. transform food production and the UK has that can work collaboratively to address an opportunity to establish global leadership key challenges. This is especially // Agricultural
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