For corn and soybean farmers in the U.S. Midwest, an autonomous machine could offer something more practical than replacing a worker: the ability to get more done with an already-lean team or spend less time in the field.
Salah Issa, associate professor in the Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign, sees both possibilities. He also pointed out that safety requirements for a large tractor differ from those of a small robot weeding vegetables or carrying produce alongside workers.
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