Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/765975
WWW.POTATOGROWER.COM 93 • Fully automated traceability solution • Modular design to suit any size operation • Straight forward components are easy to install Traces from known locations in the field RiteTrace Track & Trace System To loads placed in storage Provides transparency to buyers & processors Visit greentronics.com Contact us at 519-669-4698 163557GreLtd23v.indd 1 11/21/16 9:51 AM TECH IMMATURITY SETS BUSINESS MODEL Such machines are still not completely reliable despite the technology, at the discreet component and software level, being ready and accessible. This manifests itself in the business models of many companies seeking to commercialize such robots. They become service providers so that growers need not bear the entire risk burden and so that skilled operators run the show in case there is a technical fault. REVOLUTION TO EVOLUTION All this is projected to change in the coming decade. Despite being renowned for conservatism, growers often do take in technology. This is evident in global statistics showing how output has grown despite falling employment in the agricultural sector, which is partly due to the spread of mechanization in farming. The real effect of this conservatism, however, is that potentially revolutionary technologies become evolutionary ones. This new notion of swarms of unmanned robots will be no exception. The change will be gradual, both technologically and commercially. As the technology improves, the value proposition will have to be proved at every incremental step. So far, only a few field trials have taken place, and the experimental clock is inevitably limited by harvest seasons, further slowing down the adoption process. Furthermore, many agricultural robots today work well in specially constructed environments, suggesting that perhaps full-scale adoption requires a modification in the way farms are laid out. This will proceed at painstakingly slow rates. The full IDTechEx report, "Agricultural Robots and Drones 2016-2026: Technologies, Markets, Players" can be found online at www.IDTechEx.com/agri.