Israel enlists drones, AI and big data to farm for the future | AFP

As climate change and global population growth pose ever greater challenges for agriculture, Israeli technology offers a wealth of inventions and advanced tools to help farmers adapt.

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[myceliumtechno]

Imagine the amount of energy used for one apple to be harvested, insane

[MaleusMaleficarum]

So... no one is explaining WHY there are not enough people to puck the fruit... nor why there would be fewer people in the future.

[Clint]

Why make them fly? You could do the same thing with robotic arms that can move much faster and use much less energy

[terrylane]

Having grown up on a peach farm, this thing is amazing. The reason we got out of the peach farming business was the labor cost. Insurance is very high as well. Being on a ladder all day is very unsafe especially when carrying heavy buckets. Another thing is I am very colorblind and unable to effectively distinguish right fruit using vision. I could operate this machine regardless of my ability to see color. I love it!!!

[BigDataLogin]

My colleague and I were talking about use of drones, AI and ML in Agriculture and now we are surprised 😮to see this video precisely saying this, its like Wow 😊😊

[jamescrook]

So I'm assuming that it works 24/7 to make up for the slowness of it (unless its just a prototype/1st version)

[WooblyBoobly]

i find it weird they have flying drones instead of some kind of robotic arm attached to the car. A telescopic arm that just aligns itself with the apple, extends to catch the fruit and then retracts to collect it sounds like a way simpler idea that would work for the kind of scenario that is depicted in the video. I wonder why they chose this very complicated design.

[IndianSrMan]

Excellent. Superb use of Technology. Congratulations to Israel.

[Mr.Andrich]

Takes a lot of energy to keep a drone in the air, especially ones that smart.

[artful]

It's The Matrix, only for apple trees!

[taro]

Israelis are truely fascinating people

[kiwi]

They have made a robotic machine in New Zealand to deal with the grape vines. Not having enough labour to do the work was behind this. Selling to Australia too although they require different adjustments as they apparently don't thin the vines. A company called 'Smart Machine' in Blenheim, New Zealand.

[Brady-xj]

I am so happy that countries such as Israel are leading the way in terms of technology! Iran better take note of this. :)

[Luc-]

That's an incredible invention to pick fruit. I do wonder if it wouldn't be more energy efficient to use robotic arms instead of drones that have to keep themselves in the air constantly.

[jimcameron]

The sound of the drones is so relaxing. I imagined myself taking a nap under one of the apple trees.

[Proverbs-uwng]

What a waste of electricity, and way to slow

[HexDex-yb]

Greetings from India, we ❤Israel. This looks like a very interesting project. I like that the drones are powered via wire - unlimited fly time.

[davinzr]

Thank you Israel, your discovery is very useful and we can use Android, Memory Card, Electricity, Lights, Google, Youtube, Planes, Cars, Motorbikes, Video, Lasers, Film Projectors, Microphones, Stainless Steel, Processors, Cameras, Computers, Bluetooth, Wifi, Printing Machine, GPS, Traffic Lights

[JoseRuiz-vmhr]

No complaints, no hourly pay! This is how AI will replace humans!

[mrcritique.]

Surely that can't be cost effective.