The importance of digitization in agriculture continues to increase.
Digital Agriculture
Connected, Automatized and Sustainable
Over the past few decades, robotic and AI technologies have evolved to a point where they become applicable to food production systems. These include autonomous field machines such as tractors, harvester, robots, and drones that autonomously perform precise tasks while collecting useful data. In addition, satellites supply new data with continuously improved resolution. Complemented by data from in-situ sensor technologies, plenty of data is now available to optimize the use of resources in agriculture.
Vision: A fully automated cropping system
With Robot Farming, HEF pursues a vision that goes beyond the existing advances in digital and smart farming methods. The goal is to achieve a fully automated arable production system. This system utilizes autonomous field technology, such as robots and drones and combines it with a vast amount of information from sensors, field data files and external data sources. In connection with simulation models of plant growth, the best possible decision can be calculated. The aim is to control the entire crop production process from sowing to harvesting.
Protecting resources through digitalization and robotics
In addition to the impact of labor as the main cost factor in agriculture, we assume positive effects on soil compaction using small, lightweight robots and on the environmental balance of agriculture. This will be achieved through temporal and spatial high-resolution monitoring of the nutrient supply and the health status of crops, which enables a more targeted application of fertilizers and pesticides. Innovative approaches for the use of digital systems and methods are in development to help protect natural resources (water conservation, soil health). Including new technologies in organic farming could help this agricultural concept to become more widespread. This includes modern, sensor-based, and digitally controlled livestock farming with health monitoring and barn robotics.
Deciding which cattle to use to supplement the stock is a complex decision. Sensors and digital tools can help with the selection process. Agricultural scientists at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have developed a prototype that collates data and makes recommendations for cattle selection. Digitalization could thus be used profitably for the farm in the future.
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Preserving biodiversity without reducing agricultural productivity: So far, these two goals could not be reconciled because the socio-ecological system of agriculture is highly complex, and the interactions between humans and the environment are difficult to capture using conventional methods. Thanks to new technology, a research team at the Technical University of Munich and the University of Hohenheim show a promising way to achieve both goals at the same time. The members of the team focus on…
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In his dissertation, Dr. Martin Mittermayer investigated how digital technologies can be used to record yields and identify nitrogen losses in subplots. He has now been awarded the Ernst Klapp Future Prize in Crop Science for his work.
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A new technology will facilitate quick, easy and precise fertilizing in the field in the future. Thanks to the combination of biosensor test strips and satellite-based remote sensing data, the Technical University of Munich (TUM) is developing a method for determining the nutritional condition of cereals and the perfect amount of fertilizer. Automatic provision of digital analytical data to the tractors terminal should save time and prevent overfertilization in the future. With its development…
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Wie können Treibhausgas- und Nitratemissionen reduziert werden? Die Fachtagung „Innovationen im Pflanzenbau“ präsentiert Ansätze für die landwirtschaftliche Praxis auf Basis aktueller Forschungsarbeiten. Themenschwerpunkte sind das Potenzial von Pflanzenkohle sowie digitales Nährstoffmanagement. Die Technische Universität München (TUM) und ihre Projektpartner präsentieren am 12. und 13. Juni im TUM Akademiezentrum Raitenhaslach und den Versuchsstationen Thalhausen und Roggenstein Ergebnisse.
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