By Andy Choi
A student from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) has come up with a robotic farm help that is capable of eliminating the need for cheap, immigrant labour. The blueprint of the humanoid machine proposed by him is intelligent enough to attract further research.
Eduardo Rodriguez Hernandez
The robot will have the ability to plough, plant, spray and harvest of corn or any other crop. Eduardo Rodriguez Hernandez, the inventor of the robot is not ready with the prototype yet, but has completed the conceptualization of the control and operation of the corn growing robot. The robot will be guided by cables and will offer the capability to fully automate corn farming.
UNAM had written in a statement that their student, Eduardo Rodriguez Hernandez, is currently pursuing mechatronics, he became interested in the concept of robotic corn farming sometime last year. Hernandez aimed at creating a robot which is capable of performing all the functions that an experienced farmer could carry out. Corn being an important crop to Mexicans, Hernandez intends to make the robot popular in Mexico.
The corn-growing robot would have to till and cultivate the land, plant seeds at a specific depth and maintain the land by spraying pesticides and fertilizer. Ideally it should be able to execute all the required operations to convert the seed to an edible crop. Hernandez was inspired by his father, who is a farmer. Hernandez hopes to have the prototype ready soon.
Source: http://www.dgcs.unam.mx/