Farming may well be turning onto a revolutionary road sooner than you think, where robots are responsible for growing our food. This may be the case if a new factory in Japan is any indication of the direction that technology may take.
Spread, a company based in Kyoto, Japan, has already been working on automating food production and is set to open a completely robotic farm in 2017.
Spread says the new system will increase its productivity by over 25 percent, as well as cut costs for consumers. It will be part of a large complex that will cost over £10million to research, develop and build.
They believe this move will also allow its group of human farmers to focus on developing sustainable farming methods and learn how to produce better quality vegetables.
The robots will also monitor levels of carbon dioxide in the air and adjust lighting and heat to optimise growth.
The plant currently produces 21,000 heads of lettuce a day using a small human staff.
The farm, measuring about 4,400 square metres (47,300 square feet), will have floor-to-ceiling shelves where the produce is grown.
The system will be 'vertical' - where food is produced in vertically stacked layers. Controlling light, environment and fertilisation of the food, food produced in vertical farms is not susceptible to changes in weather and environmental conditions, and can be better monitored for disease.
Will farmers finally be able to take a hard earned rest?
