'In the future, I can see a farmer sitting at home, pressing buttons that guide a flock of drones to fly out over the fields," envisioned Asst Prof Teerakiat Kerdcharoen from the Department of Physics and Center of Nanoscience, Faculty of Science, Mahidol University.
Teerakiat's team is currently developing farm robots. From forecasting the weather to flying out and monitoring the fields, these drones could help farmers customise care given to different sections of their land.
"I mean, if you have five kids, you just don't feed them equally. Some may need more, or less, food than the others," he said.
The team's goal is to encourage smart farming — or precision farming — in order to reduce resources that go into agriculture, as well as decreasing the amount of waste that is generated.
Teerakiat believes drones and robots are the future for agriculture everywhere.
Instead of throwing everything blindly at plants — such as feeding fertiliser to all plants equally when they may not need it — knowing precisely what and where the problem lies will help farmers stop wasting resources. This will eventually reduce the cost of farming — such as the use of chemicals, fertiliser and labour — as well as decreasing the impact on the environment.
Testing a 'robot' in a field.
Currently, drones being developed by Teerakiat's team work as a decision support system. They can fly out, monitor the land, and inform farmers of the condition of their crops. Another of their ground robots can determine nutrients in the soil. They've also developed a weather forecast system to inform farmers of any impending change in the weather. This could help farmers determine when they should spray insecticides on crops.
In the future, Teerakiat's team — which specialises in sensors — will soon collaborate with a team at Chiang Mai University, who specialises in mechanics, to develop bigger drones that could carry more weight.
Around the world, the use of high technology has been increasing in agriculture. There are now tractors that harvest crops, remove weeds and distribute fertiliser, leading in some cases to the automation of farming tasks. In some areas, farmers use drones that fly onto fields and spray chemicals according to their flight plan. Workers no longer have to be out under the Sun themselves, and an area that previously required 100 people to maintain will soon be safe under the control of just five people.
Some countries, such as the US, Israel and Australia, are well on the road towards robotic use in agriculture. Thailand is still in the initial stages. However, Teerakiat believes that smart farming, as well as the shift towards automation, is necessary as agricultural methods are transformed by climate change and ageing farmers.
"Climate change is not going to ruin all agriculture. It will ruin some aspects, but it will also improve things in other ways. For example, northern Canada has grown 10% in agriculture in the past few years due to the increase in temperature. The climate is now more suitable for plants to grow," he said.
In Thailand, Teerakiat cited Isan as an example of how the change in temperature enables farmers to grow strawberries and tulips — something they can make money from.
"This shift in the environment means we can no longer stick to the old, traditional ways of farming," he said. "We now have to look towards making use of technology which can forecast the weather, for instance. We need to find out which crops yield better results with the changing climate. We have to know which area will be less or more suitable for current crops."
Asst Prof Teerakiat Kerdcharoen shows off technology developed by his team.
The problem of ageing farmers is another pressing issue. While many would argue that the use of robots takes work away from humans, the problem is quite the opposite as there is now a shortage of workers in farms, according to Teerakiat.
Due to low profits and the often unpredictable nature of farming, fewer people want to continue in agriculture, even though it's what families have been doing for decades. With current farmers growing old and no one to replace them, Teerakiat sees technology making everyone's lives easier.
Still, robots are often viewed as an expensive luxury. Some farmers already back away when seeing the price tag of drones. However, Teerakiat suggested everyone should rethink about their cost effectiveness.
"Farmers usually add the cost of buying this technology on top of their existing costs instead of viewing it as helping lower their expenses," he said. "Labour costs, for instance, can be saved. If we were to compare paying a worker 300 baht a day to the cost of fully charging a single drone, we should ask how much productivity can we gain from either of those? How much work can each cover?"
Teerakiat sees drones being used among the community. One drone could be shared among a group of farmers on a rental basis.
"People view smart farming as something extravagant," he said. "But, nowadays, we squander all kinds of resources available to us. We've never measured how much we are actually yielding from what we put in.
"With drones, the information they bring back will let us know which part of the land needs help. They are more accurate than us. In the end, they will help reduce the use of chemicals and fertilisers, and lower the impact on the environment. There will be less chemical residue left behind."
An autonomous sensor drone developed by the team at Mahidol University.
