The World's First Robot-Run Farm

Based on reporting by Tech Insider.

The Japanese lettuce production company Spread believes the farmers of the future will be robots — and it is building the world's first farm manned entirely by them.

Instead of human farmers, the indoor Vegetable Factory will employ robots that can harvest 30,000 heads of lettuce every day. These won't be humanoid robots roaming the halls; they will look more like conveyor belts with arms, planting seeds, watering plants, and trimming lettuce heads after harvest at the farm in Kyoto, Japan.

"The use of machines and technology has been improving agriculture in this way throughout human history," J.J. Price, a spokesperson at Spread, told Tech Insider. "With the introduction of plant factories and their controlled environment, we are now able to provide the ideal environment for the crops."

The Vegetable Factory follows the growing agricultural trend of vertical farming, where crops are grown indoors without natural sunlight — relying on LED light and stacked racks instead. In addition to increasing production and reducing waste, indoor vertical farming eliminates runoff from pesticides and herbicides used in traditional outdoor farming.

The new farm, set to open in 2017, will be an upgrade to Spread's existing indoor farm, the Kameoka Plant, which currently produces about 21,000 heads of lettuce per day with a small staff of humans. The new automation technology will produce more lettuce while reducing labor costs by 50%, cutting energy use by 30%, and recycling 98% of the water needed to grow the crops.

"Our mission is to help create a sustainable society where future generations will not have to worry about food security and food safety," Price said. "This means that we will have to make it affordable for everyone and begin to grow staple crops and plant protein to make a real difference."

Spread is also developing sensors that provide data about how specific crops grow, alerting human workers if a crop is not growing correctly so they can adjust techniques.

Farm robots will eliminate some human jobs, but they could also create new ones: Spread's human farmers will be able to concentrate on developing sustainable farming methods and learning how to produce higher-quality vegetables.

Source: Tech Insider