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Briefing
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- Farm Robots Test – John Lewis Partnership, parent company of supermarket chain Waitrose & Partners, will conduct three-year trial of farm robots supplied by Small Robot Company at one-hectare wheat farm in Leckford, Hampshire, England
- Data Collecting Robot – Robot named Tom equipped with cameras to collect topographical data and provide plant-by-plant view of wheat field
- Precision Weeding Robot – Robot Dick will use machine learning to identify weeds from crops and kill weeds with lasers
- Seed Planting Robot – Robot Harry to plant seeds individually in ground at uniform depth, creating map of plants showing exact location of each seed
- Integration AI Robot – Researchers will use data from Tom to develop artificial intelligence system called Wilma, which will guide Tom, Dick, and Harry to farm autonomously
- Potential Benefits – Could include reduced costs, improved yields, less use of chemicals, and greater efficiency, with revenues expected to rise up to 40% and costs cut by as much as 60%
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Accelerator
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Business Model and Practices
Business Model
and Practices
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Sector
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Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing
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Function
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Operations, Manufacturing and Production
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Organization
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John Lewis Partnership plc, Small Robot Company, Waitrose Ltd.
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Source
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Original Publication Date
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December 10, 2018
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