Picture a polytunnel filled with bright red strawberries. Working its way between fruit bushes is a self-propelled vehicle with robotic arms extending from its sides. Each of these arms is equipped with an AI-enabled camera system to detect the colour and texture of a strawberry. Ripe fruits are plucked by the robotic arm and gently placed in a punnet.

 The whirring robot can pick more fruit than a human, work 24 hours a day and avoids all the challenges of using human workers – if you can find any willing to take on the back-breaking, low-paid seasonal work of fruit picking.

Is this the future of farming? Robots are capable of carrying out a whole range of farming tasks, and they are improving rapidly. How can farmers make use of this technology, and how can standards help pave the way?

Why are robots needed in agriculture?

The case for innovations like robots on farms is clear. 

In 2022, the National Farmers’ Union reported that up to £60m worth of crops were left to rot in fields because of labour shortages. At the same time, the cost of farming inputs such as animal feed, fuel, power and fertilisers rose 34%. Also, farming accounts for around 10% of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions, meaning that change must happen if the nation is to achieve its net zero goals.

Agri-robots could be the solution to many of the challenges faced by UK farmers. The technology doesn’t only replace human labour. For example, by recording data that pinpoints where fruit is suffering from blight or identifying the perfect time for harvesting. There is potential for technology to reduce energy use, enable more targeted use of pesticide, herbicide and fertiliser.

However, adoption of new technology brings its own challenges. These include implementing and operating systems correctly, managing risk and understanding liability, and dealing with maintenance and repairs. 

A new standard, BS 8646:2023 Use of autonomous mobile machinery in agriculture and horticulture. Code of practice, provides a code of practice for the use of autonomous mobile machinery in agriculture and horticulture. The standard should help users achieve safe, confident integration of autonomous mobile machinery.

Robots on the farm

Here are a few of the innovations that can help on the farm or horticulture site:

Disease detection robots

Robots travel through crops capturing images on camera. The images are interpreted by a computer system for signs of disease and blight. This data can either alert a farmer for the need to treat the problem or trigger another automated device to apply a suitable treatment.

This technology prevents the need for blanket spraying while still preventing wastage, reducing the environmental impact. The same technology can be used to detect ripeness, helping to confirm the optimum time for harvesting.

 Autonomous tractors

Tractors that use autopilot systems to carry out steering and manoeuvring have been available for decades. However, they all require farmers to stay behind the wheel to oversee, meaning they fail to solve the central problem. Full autonomous tractors are the solution, freeing up farmers to use their time on tasks that make better use of their expertise.

Autonomous tractors use precision technology to enable vehicles to carry out tasks without the need for a human in the cab. AI systems interpret data from cameras to identify objects or obstacles, while computers automate tasks. The farmer can control the tractor using a simple app on a smartphone or laptop.

Seed sowing robots

A tractor towing a planter through a field requires human input and the energy needed to power the tractor. Seed sowing robots are small, light rechargeable devices that wheel their way up and down fields, sowing seeds from a storage tank.

These robots avoid the soil impaction caused by a heavier vehicle and use much less energy than a traditional tractor. As multiple robots can be used in a single field, at any time of day, sowing can be done rapidly and with optimal timing.

Intelligent robots

AI-enabled robots can carry out a wide range of farming and horticultural tasks, including fruit picking as mentioned above. The exact mechanisms vary – apples might be gripped by a pincer hand, nectarines plucked using a vacuum tube with a sucker on the end, raspberries snipped from their stalks which are then used to hold the fruit.

Robots can also carry out weeding, monitor livestock, or identify produce at risk of spoilage. AI-enabled drones can gather data from above, interpreting this to advise farmers on crop health and actions that need to be taken. Devices can also be used to carry out routine tasks such as refreshing livestock feed and water supplies.

Harvesting produce that grows near or in the ground is proving to be more challenging, but researchers are working on this as well.

Barriers to implementing farming innovations

In addition to the challenges of funding innovation and improvement, farmers face barriers that beset most new technologies. Fragmentation, a lack of standardization, and interoperability could all give farmers reason to pause and delay adopting new machinery and systems.

A recent survey by Innovate UK KTN found that key barriers to UK farmers adopting so-called AgriTech improvements are:

• Lack of awareness

• Lack of training

• Risk aversion

• Challenges in scaling up products

• Legislation and regulation

• Inability to calculate return on investment (ROI)

Standards like BS 8646:2023 will help to address some of these concerns. It sets out best practice, providing a consensus-based reference document to support adoption of new technology.

What does BS 8646 provide?

The standard relates to autonomous mobile machinery used in agriculture and horticulture.  For example, crop harvesters, weeders, crop sprayers, livestock feeders, drones, seed planting robots and self-driving tractors.

BS 8646 covers four key areas:

• Safety and risk management.

• Farm planning and design.

• Good practice in areas such as training, supervision and servicing of machinery.

• Maintenance and repair.

It sets out a step-by-step risk management process where hazards can be identified, control measures selected and implemented, appropriate records generated, and control review measures put in place.

Benefits of the standard include clarity on issues such as roles and responsibilities, safety and good management practices. The standard is designed to work alongside two other international standards: BS EN ISO 18497 on automated agricultural machine safety and BS EN ISO 3691-1 on self-propelled industrial trucks.

The overarching ambition for BS 8646 is to help encourage the much wider use of autonomous mobile machinery (AMM) technology in all sizes of farm, particularly smaller enterprises. It will provide farmers and horticulturists with an economic advantage at the same time as supporting the growth of an innovative industry.

In decades to come, we could wonder how the work robots carry out so effortlessly was ever solely carried out by human hands and minds. Robots will make farm work more efficient, cost-effective and sustainable, and standards will be key to realizing that potential.

Discover BSI Knowledge

Over 100,000 internationally recognized standards are available for simple and flexible access with a BSI Knowledge subscription. Our tailored subscription service allows you to build your own custom collection of standards or opt for access to one of our pre-built modules, keeping you up to date with any changes. With support from a dedicated BSI account manager, our subscription service helps you achieve a more coherent and effective approach to best practice. Request to learn more.