weeding

Robotic mowers have become a familiar technology in the lawn care and landscaping business. But what if that technology was applied on a larger scale? At a recent event, Intel demonstrated the possibilities that result when a high-bandwidth, low-latency private 5G wireless network is paired with edge computing devices. Intel collaborated with Federated Wireless and autonomous devices specialist Blue White Robotics (BWR) to deliver technology that enabled self-driving tractors at a California vineyard to automate repetitive tasks and free workers to take on higher-value responsibilities. “BWR approached us with a specific problem,” explained Bhupesh Agrawal, director of Private Wireless Networks and Edge Computing in Intel’s Network and Edge Solutions Group. “They had a fleet of autonomous tractors in rural farmland, but these machines couldn’t talk with each other as there was almost zero connectivity on the farm. Without connectivity, there is no opportunity to process real-time data.” Working together for more than a year, the three companies solved the problem and the autonomous tractors were put to work on repetitive tasks – weeding, mowing and applying herbicides – in the farm’s two square miles of grapevines. Here’s how it works: After a farmer plots the tractors’ routes, the fleet of tractors move across the vineyard in two shifts around the clock, navigating their way through fields without any humans at the wheel. Sensors on the tractors detect obstacles in their paths, while other sensors steer them around any anomalies. Federated Wireless deployed a private wireless network to overcome a connectivity ...