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You really can teach an old dog new tricks, although in Murcia's case the dogs are brand new and they aren't actually dogs at all. They're robots. Four legged, quadruped robots that patrol orchards checking on tree health and they look pretty cool doing it, too.

 

The agricultural sector is facing a serious labour shortage so technology is stepping in to fill the gap. At this week's 8th Datagri Forum in Murcia, which focuses on digital transformation in the agri-food sector, there was plenty of talk about the emergence of digital farmers and workers endowed with intelligence and autonomy.

 

Essentially, robots that can work alongside humans or replace them entirely when there simply aren't enough people to go around.

 

The star of the show was undoubtedly the robot dog exhibited by Fernando Pérez, professor at the Higher Technical School of Agricultural and Forestry Engineering of the University of Córdoba. This autonomous quadruped, which also made quite the splash at ExpoSagris last week, is specifically designed for monitoring woody crops.

 

It's equipped with cameras and 3D sensors that capture detailed data on tree structure, allowing farmers to make informed decisions about growth, biomass, fertilisation and pruning.

 

This clever canine also has 2D sensors that capture information from vegetation invisible to the human eye, such as nitrogen deficiencies, chlorophyll levels, pests and diseases. It can even monitor water stress to enable precise irrigation of crops.

 

This robot dog sees things your average farmer would miss entirely, turning what used to be guesswork into data driven decision making.

 

The complete system costs more than €200,000, which admittedly is rather steep. However, if you don't fancy shelling out for the full robotic dog experience, the sensors can be mounted on a regular tractor instead, bringing the cost down to a far more manageable €10,000 to €15,000.

 

Still not pocket change, but considerably more accessible for farmers who want the technology without the sci-fi spectacle of a mechanical mutt trotting through their groves.

 

 

Images: University of Texas