The article for this week’s current event blog comes from MIT, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. A group of undergraduate students have created a robot that has the capability of watering, harvesting and pollinating several cherry tomato plants. These robots have the ability to water each individual plant, as well as pick tomatoes when they are ripe. IT knows when to water the plant because there are numerous sensors in the soil that can tell the computer network when it is necessary to provide water or fertilizer. The robot is able to recognize a ripe tomato by using a web camera, and pick it with the right amount of pressure as not to harm or kill the plant. The process behind picking a tomato from the plant is far more difficult for a robot than a human. The robot must have the right touch, as to not hurt the plant, and know when to pick the ripe tomato. I think this topic and these articles are key stepping stone towards the future. I believe that robotics are going to play a huge part in our future, and this is one of the first innovations that may lead to bigger and better things for the field and the world as a whole. The article states that the agricultural industry is large and growing exponentially and is becoming an integral part to our society. This little advancement in robotics could possibly lead to more ideas and bigger robots to help grow and harvest crops. There have been a ton of movies and books about robots and their various roles in our future, but this brings all of these fantasy stories closer to reality. People have all of these ideas about robots and how in the future they will be able to do everything that humans do not possess the urge to do. Maybe everyone will have something like the robotic maid in the television series The Jetsons. I am very impressed to see that undergraduate students, who are just the same age as I am, are coming up with these little pieces of technology that may become a base for bigger and better robots to further our society.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30109901/
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