Robots rolled out to help boost Australian farm competitiveness

Moving carefully along a row of apple trees, two of Australia’s newest agricultural workers check if the fruit is ripe or the soil needs water or fertiliser.

Meet Mantis and Shrimp, agricultural robots being tested to do these tasks and more in a bid to cut costs and improve productivity in Australia’s economically vital farm sector, which exported A$39.6bn (€30bn) of produce in 2012.

Australia is one of the leaders in the field and, with a minimum wage of A$15.96 (€12) per hour and a limited workforce, has a big incentive to use robots and other technology such as unmanned aircraft to improve efficiency. It hopes to tap fast-growing Asian neighbours, where the swelling ranks of the middle class increasingly want more varied and better quality food from blueberries to beef.