Photos: The future of food includes self-driving tractors, precision agriculture, robots, AI, and IoT

Image 1 of 22

Closing the hunger gap

The world's population is expected to reach over 9 billion by the year 2050. This poses a unique situation for farmers as they attempt to find viable methods for producing enough food to feed everyone. Luckily, technology is growing almost as fast as the human race and can hopefully help prevent a food shortage crisis. The following farms are using IoT, AI, precision farming, and other modern methods to streamline operations and increase crop yield.
SEE: The future of food (ZDNet/TechRepublic special feature)

Image: iStock/NolanBerg11
Last-minute equipment checks using an iPad

The John Deere test facility in Bondurant, IA is taking advantage of technologies like GPS, self-driving tractors, advanced planters and sprayers, AI, and IoT to find the best ways to harness land and increase crop production.
John Deere test farm manager Marcus Hall makes last-minute system checks on a new row crop tractor from an iPad. (Caption by Natalie Gagliordi)
Read the full cover story by Natalie Gagliordi: How self-driving tractors, AI, and precision agriculture will save us from the impending food crisis

Image: Derek Poore
Preparing for a field test

John Deere test farm manager Marcus Hall prepares for a field test in Bondurant, IA. (Caption by Natalie Gagliordi)
Read the full cover story by Natalie Gagliordi: How self-driving tractors, AI, and precision agriculture will save us from the impending food crisis

Image: Derek Poore
Checking system connectivity

Marcus Hall checks system connectivity on one of John Deere's newest row crop tractors. (Caption by Natalie Gagliordi)
Read the full cover story by Natalie Gagliordi: How self-driving tractors, AI, and precision agriculture will save us from the impending food crisis

Image: Derek Poore
Testing out new planters and sprayers

John Deere performs field tests on its newest planters and sprayers at its test farm in Bondurant, IA. (Caption by Natalie Gagliordi)
Read the full cover story by Natalie Gagliordi: How self-driving tractors, AI, and precision agriculture will save us from the impending food crisis

Image: Derek Poore
The John Deere row crop tractor

The backend of John Deere's row crop tractor is prepared for planting. (Caption by Natalie Gagliordi)
Read the full cover story by Natalie Gagliordi: How self-driving tractors, AI, and precision agriculture will save us from the impending food crisis

Image: Derek Poore
Error alert

Sensors on a John Deere row crop tractor trigger an error alert on an in-cab screen when a part of the system malfunctions. (Caption by Natalie Gagliordi)
Read the full cover story by Natalie Gagliordi: How self-driving tractors, AI, and precision agriculture will save us from the impending food crisis

Image: Derek Poore
Using GPS to avoid crop overlap

With advanced GPS, a tractor operator can tell which rows have been planted to avoid overlap. (Caption by Natalie Gagliordi)
Read the full cover story by Natalie Gagliordi: How self-driving tractors, AI, and precision agriculture will save us from the impending food crisis

Image: Derek Poore
John Deere crop sprayer

The massive arms of a John Deere crop sprayer unfold like a transformer. (Caption by Natalie Gagliordi)
Read the full cover story by Natalie Gagliordi: How self-driving tractors, AI, and precision agriculture will save us from the impending food crisis

Image: Derek Poore
Meet Harry

Small Robot Company and HandsFree Hectare, two UK-based projects via Harper Adams University, are using methods such as IoT, autonomous robotics, modern photography methods, and AI to take precision agriculture to the next level; through these technologies, the projects hope to provide solutions to the imminent food shortage issue.
This is an early design for Harry, Small Robot Company's precision drilling and planting robot. (Caption by Charles McLellan)
Read the full cover story by Charles McLellan: Smart farming: How IoT, robotics, and AI are tackling one of the biggest problems of the century

Image: Small Robot Company
Introducing Rachel

Rachael, SRC's prototype robot, is used for testing control systems and gathering AI training data. (Caption by Charles McLellan)
Read the full cover story by Charles McLellan: Smart farming: How IoT, robotics, and AI are tackling one of the biggest problems of the century

Image: Small Robot Company
Haraka

SRC's precision-planting mechanism will be based on the haraka, a simple punch-planting device. (Caption by Charles McLellan)
Read the full cover story by Charles McLellan: Smart farming: How IoT, robotics, and AI are tackling one of the biggest problems of the century

Image: Eden Equip
Agri-Tech East REAP Conference

The latest prototype of Small Robot Company's Harry, a precision drilling and planting robot, at the Agri-Tech East REAP Conference in November 2018. Pictured are: Belinda Clarke (left), Director of Agri-Tech East, and Sam Watson Jones (right), co-founder of Small Robot Company. (Caption by Charles McLellan)
Read the full cover story by Charles McLellan: Smart farming: How IoT, robotics, and AI are tackling one of the biggest problems of the century

Image: Agri-Tech East
Look, no hands

The HandsFree Hectare project grows crops using autonomous machinery. No human has set foot in the one-hectare field for two seasons. (Caption by Charles McLellan)
Read the full cover story by Charles McLellan: Smart farming: How IoT, robotics, and AI are tackling one of the biggest problems of the century

Image: HandsFree Hectare
Tractor meets drill

A small, lightweight seed drill, normally used for planting between rows of vines, was used to sow the barley crop. (Caption by Charles McLellan)
Read the full cover story by Charles McLellan: Smart farming: How IoT, robotics, and AI are tackling one of the biggest problems of the century

Image: HandsFree Hectare
Autonomous combine

An autonomous combine--again, smaller and lighter than conventional farm machinery--harvesting HFHa's first crop in September 2017. (Caption by Charles McLellan)
Read the full cover story by Charles McLellan: Smart farming: How IoT, robotics, and AI are tackling one of the biggest problems of the century

Image: HandsFree Hectare
Farming equipment at Crafton Farms

Land O'Lakes is sending out technology specialists from its subsidiary, WinField United, to show co-ops such as Crafton Farms in Tennessee, as seen here, better ways of farming. (Caption by Teena Maddox)
Read the full cover story by Teena Maddox: Agriculture 4.0: How digital farming is revolutionizing the future of food

Image: Derek Poore/TechRepublic
Test fields

The Agronomy Center for Research and Education (ACRE) at Purdue University in West Lafayette, IN along with Land O'Lakes/WinField United are exploring how the implementation of big data, satellite imagery and drones, IoT sensors, and genetic testing can lower agricultural costs and improve the overall farming process.
Test fields at the Agronomy Center for Research and Education at Purdue University. (Caption by Teena Maddox)
Read the full cover story by Teena Maddox: Agriculture 4.0: How digital farming is revolutionizing the future of food

Image: Derek Poore/TechRepublic
Testing plant growth

Testing variables in plant growth at the Agronomy Center for Research and Education at Purdue University. (Caption by Teena Maddox)
Read the full cover story by Teena Maddox: Agriculture 4.0: How digital farming is revolutionizing the future of food

Image: Derek Poore/TechRepublic
Touring the facility

Jim Beaty (right), superintendent of the Purdue Agronomy Center, doing a tour of his facility. (Caption by Teena Maddox)
Read the full cover story by Teena Maddox: Agriculture 4.0: How digital farming is revolutionizing the future of food

Image: Derek Poore/TechRepublic
Testing the equipment

Testing high-tech farm equipment at the Agronomy Center for Research and Education at Purdue University. (Caption by Teena Maddox)
Read the full cover story by Teena Maddox: Agriculture 4.0: How digital farming is revolutionizing the future of food

Image: Derek Poore/TechRepublic
Farming technology

Technology in place at the Agronomy Center for Research and Education at Purdue University. (Caption by Teena Maddox)
Read the full cover story by Teena Maddox: Agriculture 4.0: How digital farming is revolutionizing the future of food

TechRepublic Cover Stories Newsletter

Never miss one of our in-depth, up-close feature stories. Previous topics include NASA's VR training for astronauts, the remarkable odyssey of Apple's first employee, and the females who broke Hitler's codes in World War II. Delivered Occasionally
Sign up today Sign up today

Also see
- The future of food (ZDNet/TechRepublic special feature)
- Food Tech (TechRepublic Flipboard magazine)
- How 5G will impact the future of farming and John Deere's digital transformation (ZDNet)
- Robotic indoor farms can grow food anywhere, anytime (ZDNet)
- Farming for the future: How one company uses big data to maximize yields and minimize impact (TechRepublic)
- Drone technologies could increase farmers' productivity by 500 percent (TechRepublic)
- Walmart now uses blockchain to trace food, will others follow? (TechRepublic)
Image: Derek Poore/TechRepublic

Closing the hunger gap

The world's population is expected to reach over 9 billion by the year 2050. This poses a unique situation for farmers as they attempt to find viable methods for producing enough food to feed everyone. Luckily, technology is growing almost as fast as the human race and can hopefully help prevent a food shortage crisis. The following farms are using IoT, AI, precision farming, and other modern methods to streamline operations and increase crop yield.

SEE: The future of food (ZDNet/TechRepublic special feature)

Image: iStock/NolanBerg11

By Kristen Lotze

Kristen Lotze is an Associate Writer for TechRepublic. She is a graduate of the University of Louisville, and previously worked as an intern in the Marketing and Communications department at Metropolitan State University of Denver.

Closing the hunger gap

Last-minute equipment checks using an iPad

Preparing for a field test

Checking system connectivity

Testing out new planters and sprayers

The John Deere row crop tractor

Error alert

Using GPS to avoid crop overlap

John Deere crop sprayer

Meet Harry

Introducing Rachel

Haraka

Agri-Tech East REAP Conference

Look, no hands

Tractor meets drill

Autonomous combine

Farming equipment at Crafton Farms

Test fields

Testing plant growth

Touring the facility

Testing the equipment

Farming technology

TechRepublic Cover Stories Newsletter

Also see

Closing the hunger gap

Related Topics:

By Kristen Lotze

Join Discussion