{"id":18148,"date":"2019-05-31T13:16:53","date_gmt":"2019-05-31T12:16:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=18148"},"modified":"2020-11-12T12:56:27","modified_gmt":"2020-11-12T12:56:27","slug":"robocrop-automation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=18148","title":{"rendered":"Introducing … ‘Robocrop’?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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In science fiction the sight of a robotic hand reaching out to grasp something soft and fleshly usually precedes an untimely death.<\/p>\n

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But the robot that has just completed its initial trials at a West Sussex farm has far more benign intentions \u00e2\u20ac\u201c not to squish the raspberries it has been designed to pick.<\/p>\n

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Although the \u00e2\u20ac\u015brobocrop\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 \u00e2\u20ac\u201c built by University of Plymouth spinout firm Fieldwork Robotics \u00e2\u20ac\u201c might not be intent on eradicating homosapiens, it raises questions about the fate of the humans who make their living picking crops as well as the impact of automation<\/a> more widely.<\/p>\n

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Data from the trials will be used to refine and improve the prototype system before further field trials are held later this year.<\/p>\n

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If they are successful, manufacturing of a commercial system could\u00c2\u00a0 begin as early as 2020.<\/p>\n

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Fieldwork is focusing initially on raspberries because they are hard to pick, are more delicate and easily damaged than other soft fruits, and grow on bushes with complex foliage and berry distribution.<\/p>\n

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The firm says that once the system is proved to work with raspberries, it can be adapted readily for other soft fruits and vegetables, with the same researchers also developing proof-of-concept robots for other crops.<\/p>\n

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Robotic fruit and vegetable pickers, as well as other technologies such as autonomous dairy farms, are set to revolutionise food production in the coming years.<\/p>\n

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The changes are part of the wave of automation known as Industry 4.0, which is set to transform the world of work as we know it.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bBut the key here is when,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 cautioned agricultural expert and Unite member Dr Charlie Clutterbuck.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bIf you look at similar crop picking initiatives in America you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re talking four or five years at least. So it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not immediate.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

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Even if the technology is available it doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t necessarily mean it will used, Clutterbuck added.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe technology will only come if it is worth investing in. If the labour is cheaper they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll stick with cheap labour. Machinery in the car industry<\/a> came in because the car workers were well paid but farm workers aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 said Clutterbuck.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe other thing is that for any farmer to invest in this sort of technology they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got to be pretty sure of the risks involved and I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t see many farmers making any decisions at the moment given the uncertainty surrounding Brexit.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bSo it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s going to be patchy and partial. Some farmers will have a go and try it out but some will wait quite a few years yet.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

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This summer Robocrop might not be coming to a field near you, but that doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t mean automation is an issue that should be ignored.<\/p>\n

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As part of Unite\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Work, Voice, Pay<\/a> industrial strategy, the union is focusing on how to make automation benefit workers across all sectors.<\/p>\n

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Unite executive officer Sharon Graham said that working people need to be at the centre of the automation debate to ensure that technological developments deliver better jobs, shorter working weeks and better retirements.<\/p>\n

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She added, \u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe next generation of technology will generate wealth and this needs to deliver for ordinary people, not just make bigger profits for corporations. We need powerful unions to fight for that to happen.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

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In science fiction the sight of a robotic hand reaching out to grasp something soft and fleshly usually precedes an untimely death.   But the robot that has just completed its initial trials at a West Sussex farm has far more benign intentions \u00e2\u20ac\u201c not to squish the raspberries it has been designed to pick. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":18149,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[17],"tags":[],"wps_subtitle":"World\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s first raspberry-picking robot raises questions over automation impact","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18148"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=18148"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18148\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25243,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18148\/revisions\/25243"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/18149"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=18148"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=18148"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=18148"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}