United States (California)
Robots and humans are working together to save water, enhance agriculture and make wine lovers very, very happy.
An estimated 85% of the world’s freshwater is used for agriculture. The RAPID system (short for Robot-Assisted Precision Irrigation and Diagnostics) has the potential to significantly reduce water consumption globally, while increasing crop yield and quality.
RAPID conserves water through co-robotics, with workers interacting with technology for precision irrigation at individual plant level. Small, plastic emitters attached to individual irrigation lines are precisely controlled by handheld devices operated by field workers or mounted on mobile robots. The devices signal the emitters to adjust the amount of water each vine receives.
Watch the future of precision agriculture in action in the grapevines of California’s Napa Valley:
Project leader
Professor Stefano Carpin, UC Berkeley Professor Ken Goldberg and Professor Stavros Vougioukas