University of Plymouth

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History

2024: Development of robots to assess soil condition

At the end of November 2024, British scientists from the University of Plymouth introduced a new robotic technology that helps farmers quickly assess the condition of the soil. This system produces faster and more accurate results than traditional methods and can improve the farm's profitability.

Farmers are increasingly resorting to regenerative agriculture technologies to combat soil degradation. Practices such as planting cover crops, reducing tillage, direct sowing, careful management of grazing, planting trees, and increasing organic matter help protect and restore soils.

interestingengineering.com

In addition, innovative technologies allow farmers and scientists to more accurately assess the state of the soil. Working together, environmentalists and farmers are looking for sustainable strategies to address the global crisis and preserve future agricultural productivity. When assessing soil, however, farmers often prioritize physical and chemical parameters that often overlook diverse communities of organisms - from microbes and fungi to earthworms and plants. In addition, sampling strategies do not allow for differences in soils that can vary greatly within a single field or in different seasons.

Typically, soil samples are manually collected from multiple areas of the field and sent to a laboratory, with results taking days or weeks to arrive. The Robotriks system, with a gamma radiation detector mounted on caterpillar or quadruped robots, makes it possible to quickly measure natural radiation levels in different areas of the soil at different times and could be an alternative to traditional methods. In addition, the system is equipped with sensors that track the movements of cattle, identifying regions where soil compaction is likely. These sensors, combined with long-range networks such as LoRaWAN, provide reliable data transmission even in distant fields.^[1]

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