TERRA-MEPP agricultural robot available by end of this year

July 30, 2017 |

In Illinois, the TERRA-MEPP robot collects useful information for plant breeders, such as emergence, height, biomass and canopy temperature. It has been tested by several companies, but will now be available to seed companies by the end of this year. Created by University of Illinois scientists, this robot treks along soil and crop rows to collect data that is easily downloaded and used to help seed companies evaluate their products.

Their goal is to expand and sell TERRA-MEPP, which stands for “Transportation Energy Resource from Renewable Agriculture-Mobile Energy Crop Phenotyping Platform,” to large farms in 2018. The robot can even work through the night in the dark to analyze biofuel crops to find desirable yields and traits. The smaller version of the robot is 3D printed making it lower in cost, about $5,000, whereas the larger version has sensors and cameras that alone cost $30,000.

Category: Research

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