New technologies are actively developing, in a few years robots will be able to replace humans in agricultural work, Vitaly Saveliev, general director of Aurora Robotics, the Avtonet project, told RIA Novosti.
Aurora Robotics is developing automation systems for agricultural machinery, the project is called AgroBot. These systems allow you to cultivate and fertilize the land without human assistance, as well as harvest.
“The essence of the project is the development and implementation of automation systems in the field of agricultural machinery. Within the framework of the project, not finished robots are being developed, namely, autonomous control systems that can be installed as additional equipment on various machines. The system consists of hardware modules that are installed either in the controls from above or in local cabins, thereby turning tractors into an agrobot, he explained on the sidelines of the International Navigation Forum, organized by NP GLONASS and RVK and held within the Russian high tech weeks.
RIA Novosti agency of the Rossiya Segodnya media group acts as the official information agency of the Russian High Technology Week and the Big Media Communication Forum (BMKF2018).
Independent machines
The company's robot, during tests in 2017 in the Ryazan region, sowed winter wheat. The machines are powered by artificial intelligence. They independently collect information and make a decision on the movement based on it.
“In some specific areas and tasks, for example, monotonous fertilization over a large area or tillage, I think machines will replace people in the near future. Now, in fact, this work is carried out by the so-called "parallel driving systems on tractors", which, in fact, help the tractor driver. In fact, from beginning to end, this system is capable of independently controlling equipment. The only difference is that the system blindly guides you through the navigation, not knowing where it is going. There is no technical vision, there is no way to change the trajectory, "Saveliev said.
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“These systems work, they are getting smarter and smarter. I think that in the horizon of 5-10 years in the field of field agriculture there will be quite a lot of changes, and many professions will undergo automation,”he added.
The head of the company does not expect problems with the labor force against the background of automation.
“Devices can improve human efficiency. When tractors appeared, it is difficult to say how many people with a rake lost their jobs. A new toolkit has appeared, thanks to which it is possible to perform work much more efficiently, to cover new areas. As world practice and research shows, this is a far-fetched trend that many people are losing jobs due to robotization. They get under their control a new, more efficient tool with which they become more productive,”he explained his point of view.
Technical Updates
Not only jobs will change, but also the equipment itself, Saveliev believes. At the same time, it will not be possible to completely exclude a person from the processes.
“I think machines will be gradually replaced, moving from manual control to automation. First of all, machines will be replaced in the field of monotonous processes, where human participation is not required and can be excluded. If we talk not only about the field of agriculture, but also about the utilities and mining, first of all, people will be replaced by machines where there is a threat of harm to people in their work,”he said.
“I believe that this replacement will be systematic, starting from simple machines and ending with combines, which, in fact, are a factory on wheels, where a person still needs to be present,” Saveliev added.
