Corn: a simple plant that is a staple of the modern diet. It turned into all kinds of products outside of being tasty on its own—cornmeal, high fructose corn syrup, and of course, cornbread! But the process of producing it has changed with the times as modern technology makes the difficult task of farming easier. With robotics making inroads in production and shipping, it is no surprise that they are also making their way into farming.
Today, farms mainly rely on large tractors and other equipment to plant, fertilize, and harvest their fields. These tractors can be guided by GPS but still require a human behind the controls to operate them outside the lots and perform basic maintenance. Enter: autonomous farming equipment. Without the need for sleep and only needing to stop to refill and recharge, these machines will change the profession and industry of farming. Like manufacturing before it, the skills required to operate a profitable farm will change dramatically as the price of these autonomous devices decreases and their availability increases. Major farming equipment manufacturers are already experimenting with smaller robots to replace large, expensive equipment in the fields. These “swarm” bots will tend to the crops as needed day or night and significantly reduce the “man” hours needed on the farm of the future. Soon, “down on the farm” will have an entirely different meaning.