Being a technologist, I immerse myself into stories, articles, and papers about technology. For the better part of a decade, I did this in an effort to understand trends and where things are going.
There are so many out there with a dystopian view of things. I find that the view people have of the future, whether good or bad, tends to be nothing more than a projection of how they see things now. Nevertheless, there are thousands of reasons a week to be optimistic about how things are progressing.
There are millions of projects, if not tens of millions, being worked on around the world in all the different fields. Collectively, these are all having a major impact. Technology is at the core of much of this. Disruption is coming on hot and heavy with few prepared for it.
The technological implications are a bit different from the societal ones. Here, I am focusing solely on the technological benefits. Society is going to have to do a lot of work to solve other issues.
One of the leading fields in automation and technological progress is the agriculture business. When making reference to autonomous vehicles, names like Tesla, Waymo, and Uber are thrown around. Never do you hear of the company that most produced more autonomous vehicles than anyone else: John Deere.
Over the past decade, this company took great strides in implementing technology that is now in operation in fields all over the world. In fact, most companies in this industry did the same thing. Farms now employ a fraction of the number of workers they did in the past. We ever are starting to see the use of automatic milking machines for cows.
One drawback to the entire sector is the use of pesticides. This constant for decades is now coming under fire itself. Whether we are looking at the personal garden behind one's house or the full-scale farm, the same holds true: most everything is sprayed with chemicals. The argri-petrochemical business is huge.
Of course, this creates a series of problems. The most notable is that they are sprayed everywhere. There is no regard for food versus weed. It is also a major detriment to the environment. Over time, the soil is harmed because of the long-term use of these chemicals (not to mention it getting into the drinking water).
What if, however, this could be reduced by a factor of 20?
This is exactly what we could be looking at. The $26B herbicide business could be seriously dented.
This will be the future.
The future: Robots like the one created by ecoRobotix (shown above) will be able to roll through fields, using computer vision to target and spray individual weeds as they go. EcoRobotix claims its robo-brigade will decrease total herbicide use by a factor of 20. You might even be able to get a smaller Roomba-esque version for your home garden.
Essentially we are looking at the use of computer intelligence (AI) to target the weeds that need spraying which is going to cut the use of these chemicals by 95%. This is something that is going to have a major impact on the environment, could crush the revenues of the chemical companies, and improve the health of people.
Of course, start ups have always existed with grand ideas to radically change industries only to falter. Not this time.
The use of these weed killers isn’t far off. John Deere got in on the tech last year, acquiring the precision spraying startup Blue River, meaning its tractors could be outfitted with weed targeters very soon. Large agrochemical companies are desperately trying to acquire businesses working on similar technologies, in preparation for a decline in demand for their chemicals.
This is how you know it is a done deal. Not only is the biggest fish in this pond, John Deere, in this market, but all the major agrochemical companies too. When everyone in an industry is moving in a direction, that is the direction the industry takes.
Here we have one idea that is going to have huge impact. What is fascinating is that it is something 99% of the population has no idea about. Who thinks about the herbicide spraying on farms and the ramifications of it? This is not exactly on the top of most people's agenda. I am sure more people know what the President did this morning than this major ecological and agriculture innovation.
Now multiply this times a few hundred thousand and you see how the world is changing. For every negative story about something bad happening with technology, there are a thousand case points which negate that.
So get excited, we are going to see a major improvement in humanity over the next 5-10 years. This progress is not something decades or centuries away. It is right at the front door.
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Makes you wonder what marvels (or disasters) can be achieved with nanobots. All new technologies have a good and bad side, crypto does too. regards @taskmaster4450
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Very true...they do.
Technology, for the most part is neutral...it is what man does with it.
Nanobots have potential to eradicate many of the diseases that plague us...or take over the planet like a plague.
Time will tell how we approach it.
The downside to cryptocurrency...being a banker. LOL
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The downside of crypto currencies is the lack of privacy and orwelian levels of control they bring to government and big companies. Once fiat cash disappears they can literally control who eats and who doesn't. Privacy coins come to the rescue but could be banned everywhere but the darknet so they would only be available to highly advanced users. In other words, the future of privacy will be reserved for highly trained people.
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Great content, thanks for sharing. Interesting take on the future of technology. Sometimes, people get caught up with the big name and glamour and look past the simple companies...like John Deere.
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Right
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This is a truly amazing and disruptive technology.
I wonder if it will also create a significant decline in GMO product development because companies like Monsanto will be unable use their chemical sales to prop up their GMO research.
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It very well could. Removing resources from them....
Practice on Monsanto then, ultimately, turn to the government.
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I think draining governments of resources is a very bad idea. I know most crypto enthusiasts love this idea.
The last thing I want is a world of anrcho capitalist, fascist corporations running wild with no governments anywhere, which I think is the result we'd get if all governments were drained of resources.
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First time I’ve heard of a robotic weed exterminator!
I’ve read up some stories about giant farms being automated. There’s little doubt in my mind this is happening by the end of the next decade.
Thanks for continuing to keep us informed, taskmaster!
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yeah, this is a serious issue to be noted. But the happy hearing is that many of the farmers are getting agriculturally educated and growing things naturally. Farmers are tending towards biofertilizers rather than the artificial one. Thanks for the post :)
Farmers would surely keep their eye off from pesticides because the demand is higher for the natural one, while supply is less.
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Technological advancement has really improved the standard of living of people all over the world. Just cant stop imaging what it would be like in the next 5 years.
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i think this plan is really awesome and it's such a good job
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excellent project
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Fabulous one..
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really knowledgeable post to all.there are many nice article used in this post.go on.people will be benefited on this.jeep sharing
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harvest automation does something similar. i recollect visiting a farm in 2000 where they would setup sensors that would force the ploughing machine to plough 100s of hectares on its own. it could do only rectangular plots but it was efficient. you still had to monitor it to course correct if necessary.
i think robot farming is already there and i also see serious applications in remote controlled (non robotic) stevedores in the shipping industry
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Technology has grown leaps and bound and it will be interesting what tomorrow brings.
I really want to see where tech will bring us in the blockchain. What processes will change and industries created.
A lot of the jobs now may be considered obsolete a couple of years from now.
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