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It takes a certain nimbleness to pick a strawberry. While crops like wheat and potatoes have been harvested mechanically for decades, many fruits and vegetables have proved resistant to automation. They are too easily bruised, or too hard for heavy farm machinery to locate. 摘草莓需要具有一定的靈活性。盡管像小麥和土豆這樣的農作物實現機械化收割已有十幾年的歷史，但是許多水果和蔬菜被證明還是無法實現自動化。這些水果都屬于非常容易爛，或者對于重型農業機械而言很難定位的類型。 But recently, technological developments and advances in machine learning have led to successful trials of more sensitive and dexterous robots, which use cameras and artificial intelligence to locate ripe fruit and handle it with care and precision. 但在最近，在設備研究方面所取得的技術進步和突破已經使更加敏感和靈活的機器人在試用中取得成功。新推出的機器人利用攝像頭和人工智能來定位成熟的水果并小心精準地將其摘下。 Developed by engineers at the University of Cambridge, the Vegebot is the first robot that can identify and harvest iceberg lettuce — bringing hope to farmers that one of the most demanding crops for human pickers could finally be automated. 由劍橋大學工程師研發的機器人-Vegebot是首個可以發現卷心萵苣并將其摘下來的機器人。這一機器人使農場主有希望讓最難摘的農作物實現自動化。 First, a camera scans the lettuce and, with the help of a machine learning algorithm trained on more than a thousand lettuce images, decides if it is ready for harvest. Then a second camera guides the picking cage on top of the plant without crushing it. Sensors feel when it is in the right position, and compressed air drives a blade through the stalk at a high force to get a clean cut. 首先，攝像頭會掃描萵苣。然后，在已經過1000張以上萵苣圖像訓練的機器學習算法的幫助下，來判斷萵苣是否已經成熟并可以摘除。接下來，第二個攝像頭會引導位于蔬菜上方的采摘籠并確保其不會把蔬菜壓傷。當機器處于正確的位置時，傳感器會發出信號，隨后壓縮空氣會以巨大沖力將刀片推過根莖并實現整齊切割。 Its success rate is high, with 91% of the crop accurately classified, according to a study published in July. But the robot is still much slower than humans, taking 31 seconds on average to pick one lettuce. Researchers say this could easily be sped up by using lighter materials. 根據9月發表的一篇研究報告，自動化采摘的成功率很高，其中91%的農作物被正確歸類。但是，與平均每31秒就可以摘下一顆萵苣的人工相比，機器人的速度還是慢得多。 Such adjustments would need to be made if the robot was used commercially. "Our goal was to prove you can do it, and we've done it," Simon Birrell, co-author of the study, tells CNN Business. "Now it depends on somebody taking the baton and running forward," he says. 如果機器人被推向市場，那么則需要對速度方面進行相應調整。Simon Birrell，研究的共同作者，介紹道：“我們的目標是證明你可以做到，現在我們已經做到了。現在需要有人接過接力棒然后繼續向前推進?！?/p> More mouths to feed, but less manual labor要吃飯的人更多了，但干活的人卻更少了 With the world's population expected to climb to 9.7 billion in 2050 from 7.7 billion today — meaning roughly 80 million more mouths to feed each year — agriculture is under pressure to meet rising demand for food production. 到2050年，世界人口預計會從現在的77億增加到97億，這意味著每年大約會有8000萬張嘴需要食物。因此，面對人口對糧食生產日益增長的需要，農業面臨著巨大的壓力。 Added pressures from climate change, such as extreme weather, shrinking agricultural lands and the depletion of natural resources, make innovation and efficiency all the more urgent. 氣候變化，比如極端天氣、縮減的農業用地以及自然資源的減少等額外壓力都讓創新和效率變得更加迫切。 This is one reason behind the industry's drive to develop robotics. The global market for agricultural drones and robots is projected to grow from $2.5 billion in 2018 to $23 billion in 2028, according to a report from market intelligence firm BIS Research. 這就是為什么農業領域希望開發機器人的原因之一。根據市場情報公司BIS Research所發布的一篇報告，全球的農業無人機和機器人市場預計會從2018年的25億美元增加到2028年的230億美元。 "Agriculture robots are expected to have a higher operating speed and accuracy than traditional agriculture machinery, which shall lead to significant improvements in production efficiency," Rakhi Tanwar, principal analyst of BIS Research, tells CNN Business. Rakhi Tanwar，BIS Research首席分析師，介紹說：“農業機器人會比傳統農業設備速度更快、精確性更高，而這將會大幅提高生產效率”。 On top of this, growers are facing a long-term labor shortage. According to the World Bank, the share of total employment in agriculture in the world has declined from 43% in 1991 to 28% in 2018. 此外，種植農戶將面臨長期的勞動力缺乏。根據世界銀行數據，農業全球總雇工的占比已經從1991年的43%下降到2018年的28%。 Tanwar says this is partly due to a lack of interest from younger generations. "The development of robotics in agriculture could lead to a massive relief to the growers who suffer from economic losses due to labor shortage," she says. Tanwar表示，這部分和年輕人對農業缺乏興趣有關。她表示：“農業機器人的開發可以極大地減輕種植農戶的負擔，使他們不再會因為勞動力短缺而面臨經濟損失?！?/p> Robots can work all day and night, without stopping for breaks, and could be particularly useful during intense harvest periods. 機器人可以不分晝夜地工作并且不需要任何休息，因此在農忙時節特別有用。 "The main benefit is durability," says Martin Stoelen, a lecturer in robotics at the University of Plymouth and founder of Fieldwork Robotics, which has developed a raspberry-picking robot in partnership with Hall Hunter, one of the UK's major berry growers. Martin Stoelen，普利茅斯大學機器人專業講師、Fieldwork Robotics創始人，與Hall Hunter，英國大型漿果種植商之一聯合開發出一款可以摘取覆盆子的機器人。Martin表示：“機器人最主要的優勢就是持久性。” Their robots, expected to go into production next year, will operate more than 20 hours a day and seven days a week during busy periods, "which human pickers obviously can't do," says Stoelen. 他們的機器人預計會在明年投入生產，可以在農忙時節一天工作20小時以上，一周工作七天?！岸@顯然是人工所無法做到的”，Stoelen表示。 Sustainable farming and food waste 可持續性的農業和食物垃圾 Robots could also lead to more sustainable farming practices. They could enable growers to use less water, less fuel, and fewer pesticides, as well as producing less waste, says Tanwar. 機器人可以帶來更加可持續的耕種實踐。他們可以使農戶使用更少的水、更少的燃料以及更少的殺蟲劑，并從而產生更少的垃圾。 At the moment, a field is typically harvested once, and any unripe fruits or vegetables are left to rot. Whereas, a robot could be trained to pick only ripe vegetables and, working around the clock, it could come back to the same field multiple times to pick any stragglers. 目前的做法是，當某塊農田收割過一次后，那些未成熟的水果或蔬菜就會被剩下直到爛掉。但是，現在機器人在經過訓練后可以只摘取成熟的蔬菜并不分晝夜的工作。此外，機器人還可以多次返回同一片農田摘取任何成熟的蔬菜。 Birrell says that this will be the most important impact of robot pickers. "Right now, between a quarter and a third of food just rots in the field, and this is often because you don't have humans ready at the right time to pick them," he says. Birrell表示，這就是采摘機器人最大的作用。目前，大約有四分之一到三分之一的水果或蔬菜就在農田里腐爛掉了，因為人類采摘者無法正好在他們成熟時就把他們摘下來。 A successful example of this is the strawberry-picking robot developed by Octinion, a Belgium-based engineering startup. 農業機器人成功的案例就是由Octinion，一家比利時的工程新興企業所研發的草莓采摘機器人。 The robot — which launched this year and is being used by growers in the UK and the Netherlands — is mounted on a self-driving trolley to serve table top strawberry production. 這款機器人已于今年推出并正在被英國和荷蘭的種植農戶所使用。這款機器人安裝在一個自行驅動的手推車上以摘取草莓。 It uses 3D vision to locate the ripe berry, softly grips it with a pair of plastic pincers, and — just like a human — turns it 90 degrees to snap it from the stalk, before dropping it gently into a punnet. 機器人利用3D攝像頭來定位成熟的莓果，然后用一對塑料鉗子輕輕將其夾住。隨后，機器人會像人工采摘者一樣，將莓果旋轉90度，以將其從樹枝上擰下來。最后，再將其輕輕放入小果籃。 "Robotics have the potential to convert the market from (being) supply-driven to demand-driven," says Tom Coen, CEO and founder of Octinion. "That will then help to reduce food waste and increase prices," he adds. Tom Coen，Octinion的CEO兼創始人表示：“機器人有潛力將目前的供方市場轉變為需方市場。機器人可以幫助農戶減少食品浪費并增加收益”，他補充表示。 Harsh conditions嚴苛的外界環境 One major challenge with agricultural robots is adapting them for all-weather conditions. Farm machinery tends to be heavy-duty so that it can withstand rain, snow, mud, dust and heat. 農業機器人所面臨的一大挑戰就是需要適應各種天氣環境。農業設備一般都非常結實耐用，因為只有這樣它才可以經受雨水、雪、泥、灰塵和炎熱。 "Building robots for agriculture is very different to building it for factories," says Birrell. "Until you're out in the field, you don't realize how robust it needs to be — it gets banged and crashed, you go over uneven surfaces, you get rained on, you get dust, you get lightning bolts." Birrell表示：“生產農業機器人和生產工廠機器人完全不同。在你實際來到農田之前，你無法意識到機器人到底需要多牢固。機器人會受到撞擊和碰撞，需要越過不平的表面，會遭到雨淋，會布滿灰塵并遭到雷擊?！?/p> California-based Abundant Robotics has built an apple robot to endure the full range of farm conditions. It consists of an apple-sucking tube on a tractor-like contraption, which drives itself down an orchard row, while using computer vision to locate ripe fruit. 一家位于加州的Abundant Rototics已經生產出一款蘋果采摘機器人，這款機器人能夠適應所有的農業環境。機器人包括一個蘋果吸管。吸管位于和拖拉機類似的機械裝置上。這款裝置可以自己在一排排蘋果樹之間移動并利用電腦攝像頭定位成熟的蘋果。 This spells the start of automation for orchard crops, says Dan Steere, CEO of Abundant Robotics. "Automation has steadily improved agricultural productivity for centuries," he says. "[We] have missed out on much of those benefits until now." 這預示著蘋果作物自動化采摘的開始，Dan Steere，Abundant Robotics的CEO表示。“幾個世紀以來，自動化已在逐步改善農業的效率，我們已經錯失了許多自動化所帶來的益處?！?/p> 消息來源：CNN, 編輯：質控部Susan