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AN “ARMY” of robot dogs with technology capable of “sniffing out” chemicals in soil and scaling 16ft in just one second have been created by scientists.
The futuristic companion features £25,000 in technology to help farmers analyse their soil.
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Developed by the University of Plymouth, footage shows Ellie the Robot Dog plodding through grassy verges and scaling steep inclines.
Controlled via a remote screen, the four-legged machine can be seen stomping on the spot in a similar action to a dog digging and turning independently before heading off at speed in a different direction.
The latest Innovative Farmers trial has seen the dog reach a top speed of 16 feet a second while weighing around 15kg.
Ellie has even adopted features to make it as likeable as man’s best friend.
The robot can sit while looking up and even wave a paw like it’s canine counterpart.
Whirling around where you would expect a mouthpiece, the four-legged technology allows the sensor to remain positioned above the ground.
Jake Gibson Shaw-Sutton, a former student of the University of Plymouth and co-director of Robotriks built the robot dog.
He told Bauer Media Group: “Ellie, our little robot dog army at this point, comes into help because we can send them into these deep ditches, into thick woodlands, underneath bushes, trees.
“Realistically I think in the future we might have a few dogs that people can either share or rent out or use themselves.”
Experimenting with the robotic dogs, the scientists are hoping the machine could be used to take thousands of photos in hard-to-reach places.
This would allow biodiversity to be measured using AI tools in areas such as hedgerows.
The developer then described how the robot has some incredible features including 3D depth sensors and stereo cameras.
Gamma ray spectroscopy and full infrared features are in the works, which would allow the machines to test soil there and then in the field.
Once upgraded, this would remove the need to send a sample back to the laboratory, reducing time and money spent.
However, the long-term investment is not so cheap with the £25,000 gamma detector capable of measuring naturally occurring levels of radiation in the soil.
Jake added: “We’re testing these out in the field, coating them in mud, letting people beat them as if they would a normal tractor and because of that kind of treatment we’ve had far better reception, people are willing because they want to see what’s capable.”
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He explained how the group are now working with farmers to understand what would be the most useful way to progress Ellie for their use in the field.
Meanwhile, the tech-whizz has also designed a Robotic Traction Unit that can successfully act as a sustainable farm aid.
The autonomous agricultural platform runs entirely from electric and once set up can be self-deployed on a mission, monitored entirely through a computer, tablet or smart phone.
So far, Malcolm Barrett a farmer working with the nature-friendly trials, has seen dramatic improvements in his soil with less flooding and more worms.
Michael told the sun: “We’re learning more about what the soil can do for us, and what we can do for the soil.
“It’s helping everyone by helping the environment and we’re getting huge benefits on our farm too.
“If we can understand our soil and our crops more, we can farm smarter by targeting our approach.
“Having thousands of data points from the robotic sensors helps to build a whole picture – then we can see if there’s certain areas that need attention and single out management practices that work.”
Meanwhile Catherine Barrett said: “We’re working together to support each other and all get the outcome we want – more good, local food.”
Partnering with the University of Plymouth off the back of the success, the team now hopes to pioneer sensors that estimate organic matter and moisture levels using natural radioactivity signals that come from all soil minerals.
This could lead to better ground management and improve productivity.
Robots in the workforce
THE future is here after a number of robots have been captured achieving the unimaginable in recent months.
Ai-Da, named after Ada Lovelace, became the first of its kind when its artwork was sold at major auction house, Sotherby’s.
Fetching nearly £8 million, the AI artist was created by a team of scientists at Oxford University and has since been pictured in front of the creative pieces.
That’s not the only uncanny valley tech development, with a major courier introducing advanced robo-posties.
Capable of dropping off parcels, DPD has planned a UK-wide introduction which could run for six hours on a single charge.
Meanwhile, in the animal kingdom a robot dog has managed to dig out a rice-sized scrap of nuclear fuel from the site of Fukushima in Japan.
Grabbing hold of the tiny piece of melted waste, the sample was surprisingly found to be less radioactive than expected.
That’s not the only canine tech with a Chinese company developing a robust bionic dog equipped with wheels to speed through rough terrain.
Performing stunts, descending down hills and dodging massive slabs of rock is all in a day’s work for the X30.
