You´d think that the most challenging, the lowest-paid labor in the U.S. was safe from automation, but as robots become increasingly sophisticated that could change

Jørgensen, Rasmus N.

Organic Eprints

12/5/11 Down on the Farm, Will Robots Replace Immigrant Labor? - Technology «1/3www.technologyreview.com/blog/mimssbits/27120/3 COMMEN TSCHRISTOPHER MIMS 08/30/2011DoZn on the Farm, Will Robots ReplaceImmigrant Labor?You'd think that the most challenging, lowest-paid labor in the U.S. was safefrom automation, but as robots become increasingl\ sophisticated, that couldchange.The ASuBot is an e[perimental platform for automaticall\ tending orchardsA quick search of Google Scholar will reveal that the engineering literature is home to morepapers on agricultural robots than ever. The majority are from China, which might seem strangegiven the historically low cost of labor there.But times are changing: Foxconn, the electronics manufacturer famous for building Appleproducts as well as worker suicide, is moving to incorporate one million robots into its assemblylines in just three years. Wages are rising in China, as are the demands of workers. In an age inwhich increasingly complex tasks can be performed by semi-autonomous machines, robots havebecome the ultimate scabs.Down on the farm, it's no different. Industrial agriculture has already simplified the otherwisetopographically complicated landscape a robot must navigate. Orchards, after all, have beenplanted in regular rows for centuries.The same technology that allows for self-driving cars is driving this nascent revolution. Theseadvances include optical range-finding technology like LIDAR, which can give robots theequivalent of human visual acuity and even better depth perception.Another important ingredient, according to an abstract just submitted to the Automation andSystem Technology in Plant production conference of the Nordic Association of AgriculturalScientists, is the open-sourcing of robot control software and hardware.Using FroboMind software, which runs on top of the open-source Robot Operating System fromWillow Garage, researchers were able to drive the FroboBox, a straightforward Debin Linux-powered computer whose flexible outputs can be used to drive almost any kind of automate-ablefarm machinery.In one particular application, the FroboBox drove an experimental ASuBot, which is kind of like aself-driving riding lawnmower. Here's a video of it in action.BIORECENT POSTS FROMMIMS'S BITSBLOG TOPICSChristopher Mims is a journalist who coverstechnology and science for just about everybody.Subscribe to the Mims's Bits RSS FeedThe 10 Most Hilariously Geeky Fake Twitter StreamsWith Chrome Ascendant, Mozilla Is a Dead ManWalkingWhy Apple is Already the #1 PC ManufacturerThis Is Why Your Website Is SlowMOREcleantech  Firefox  HP  iPad  mozillasearch  twitter  web browserPublished by MITSubscribeLoginHOME COMPUTING WEB COMMUNICATIONS ENERGY MATERIALS BIOMEDICINE BUSINESS MAGAZINE BLOGS VIDEOEnglish en Espaxol auf Deutsch in Italiano 中᮷ in IndiaVeaUchD\namics NAVDin l¡ftestang til effektivisering ogforretningsudvikling!ZZZ.logosconsult.dkGoogle AdWordsBetal pr. klik. Opret selv konto online -Tilmeld dig i dag!ZZZ.googledanmark.comSikre data i sk\enATEA Cloud computing! Specialister i server& storage.ZZZ.atea.dk12/5/11 Down on the Farm, Will Robots Replace Immigrant Labor? - Technology «2/3www.technologyreview.com/blog/mimssbits/27120/97 DA Y S A GO 08/30/2011patnclaire10 Comments96 DA Y S A GO 08/31/2011Kevn7326 Comments88 DA Y S A GO 09/08/2011erbium307 CommentsCLOSE COMMENTSusername  Wh\ Whe Ne[W SWeYe JobV Will Be inEneUg\, NoW CompXWeUVIUene Tip: HoZ Wo KeepYoXU Cell Phone GoingaV Long aV PoVVibleAs we've seen in countless other areas of software development, the more the details of a systemcan be abstracted away through the use of robust, open-source components, the more timeprogrammers and engineers have to actually build something that works. Just as Apache andHTML made the web possible, it appears that the Robot Operating System and platforms built withit are allowing researchers to move past theory and into the real world.But at what point do robots become cheaper than migrant labor? That depends: in Denmark,where the FroboMind is being pioneered, labor costs are substantially higher than in the U.S.China has an incentive to move up the value chain in addition to dealing with its own rising wages,so, as in clean energy, its engineers have an interest in creating products for export. In anycountry, when capital is cheaper than labor -- that's when we'll see devices like these roll out.To comment, please sign in or registerForgot my  passwordOne si]e fits allComponents of agra-robots exist now. There is code to drive vehicles down city streetswith traffic lights and parked cars and pedestrians and bouncing balls from betweenparked cars. There is the DARPA contest to build autonomous vehicles that travelthrough the desert for some miles. The AI software is getting better all the time. What isneeded is systems of systems engineers with interoperability expertise«and a well-defined set of limited requirements. For the foreseeable future, one sized robots that fitsall will have to wait.REPLYIt's just a matter of time.Local area or differential GPS solutions are ideal for farms. An enclosed well-definedarea easy to map and rarely changes. The technology is not new, it's mature, and it'swidely available. The cost of integration is the only thing holding back most farm ownersfrom switching over. But, as we know, technology does two things very very well, it getsbetter and it gets cheaper. So I feel it's just a matter of time before farmers willroboticize every part of their workforce that can be.REPLYEuropean automationWe had a talk by a major grower at our club.  He toured europe growers.  One thememany had in common:  huge indoor grow areas, with almost no employees other thanfamily.   This is for two reasons:if they make money but don't invest it in the business, it gets largely taxed away.  So ifthey invest in automation systems they increase productivity and keep the money in theform of the capital goods.if they hire someone, they are next to impossible to let go, and cost quite a bit - inFACEBOOKKent Stark Olsen and 3 other friends sharedDown on the Farm, Will Robots ReplaceImmigrant Labor? - Technology Review. ā about 3months agoAnders Bøgild and 3 other friends shared Downon the Farm, Will Robots Replace ImmigrantLabor? - Technology Review. ā about 3 months agoGasoline Fuel Cell Would Boost ElectricCar Range - Technolog\ Review63 people recommend this.Human Brain Is Limiting Global DataGrowth, Sa\ Computer Scientists -Technolog\ Review88 people recommend this.Facebook social pluginSend LeonLarsen,12/5/11 Down on the Farm, Will Robots Replace Immigrant Labor? - Technology «3/3www.technologyreview.com/blog/mimssbits/27120/  201 1  Technol ogy  Rev i ewABOUT USADVERTISEEVENTSREPRINTS & PERMISSIONSPRESSJOBSRESOURCESSTAFFCAREER RESOURCESCUSTOMER SERVICECONTACT USPRIVACYTERMS OF USESITE MAPWEBSITE FEEDBACKSUBSCRIBEGIFT SUBSCRIPTIONFREE NEWSLETTERSRENEWBACK ISSUESCUSTOMER SERVICEAPPSF O L L O W  U SOn TwitterBecome a Fan on FacebookSubscribe to the Feedfrance they have under 40 hour work weeks mandatory and 7 week vacations.   I'm surepayroll taxes, etc are much higher.So it seems like in europe people have been priced out of some labor markets.robotics for agriculture is not simple.  sure tractors have gps now and can be verysophisticated.  however crop pickers, and plant tenders outdoors have to be verycomplex to replace people.  and increasingly there are indoors crops - the baby lettucesfound many markets, and greenhouse tomatoes are one example.  the lettuce grow on aslowly moving river pond of hydroponics.  the tommies have to be tied up to strings,clipped and tended in the vast greenhouses.  the first is designed to need few peopleand engineered automation rather than robotics, the second would be hard for robots todo.REPLYMobiltelefoner Til ldre Oplev vores enkle og smarte mobiler for  ldre. Velkommen! www.doro.dkSamsung Galaxy S II Verdens måske bedste smartphone! Min. pris nu kun Kr 3.844/6 mdr. www.3.dk/galaxy_s25 timers taletid - 149 kr Nye kunder - 5 timer fri tale, SMS, MMS og 600MB - Kun 149 kr. i 1 md. www.CBB.dk

Down on the Farm, Will Robots Replace Immigrant Labor?

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