"We won't go from humans to robots in one pass," said Singh. "It will take small improvements to the entire growing process. But I'm very excited about the prospect of machines in agriculture. For many reasons it's the right thing to do, and it's a fantastic educational tool as well." In the future MIT's robotic gardening team hopes to try fruits that would present other challenges, like strawberries on the ground or miniature oranges, which wouldn't change positions as the plant grows. If you have a garden with small plants, don't expect to buy a robotic gardener for another few years. More improvement needs to be made to the system, and each robot now costs an estimated $2,500. But in several years robotic gardeners might be a reality. "The long-term goal is that someone could have a little 10 meter by 10 meter greenhouse that would just spit out fruits and vegetables," said Correll. "All you would have to do is add water and nutrients, and the robot would do the rest." Related Links: |
advertisement
Put Discovery News on Your Site!
|
-
our sites
-
video
mobile
-
shop
-
stay connected
-
corporate
