Re:Small robots may kill the tractor and make farming efficient
by nradov on Sunday November 11, 2018 @06:47PM
(#18429487)
It's certainly possible to build such a machine. But it would be more mechanically complex and expensive to build and operate than existing harvesters. And it would be locked into two specific crops which might not be the combination that farmers want next year. It's hard to see how machinery like that could ever be economically viable.
Re:Small robots may kill the tractor and make farming efficient
by sandworm101 on Sunday November 11, 2018 @07:03PM
(#18429568)
Possible? Try a standard farming technique called "intercropping". Often a single mechanical combine harvests both plants at once, with the crops separated from each other mechanically later. Other times the plants can be separated by height and harvested on subsequent passes.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intercropping
https://www.grainews.ca/2013/10/08/six-things-to-consider-wh...
Really? You think a mechanical harvester cannot be built that could handle two types of plants at once? Forget deep learning and imaging technology. Plant alternating rows and build a harvester to accommodate, straddle, one while working the other. No fancy vision tech needed.