Farming: Pupils first to drive AgBot robot tractor

A robot tractor that can farm unsupervised and be controlled by a phone app has been trialled by agricultural students.

Young farmers at Coleg Glynllifon near Caernarfon, Gwynedd, are among the first in the UK to try the AgBot, which uses artificial intelligence to plough fields, sow seeds or spread fertiliser.

It costs £380,000 but could help farmers in upland areas of north Wales.

The AgBot was developed in the Netherlands.

Megan, 17, said: "It will be very handy on my family farm - it's particularly interesting to see how it compacts the soil less than the tractors we're using at the moment."

Teleri, also 17 and from Ceredigion, added: "It's a great machine, and shows how technology has changed so much in farming in just a short time.

"Some of the work that you have to do on a tractor can be quite boring, and involve long hours.

"Any chance to make that easier is really attractive."

Eira, 18, said it was hoped the tractor will not always be as expensive as it is now.

"Soil compaction is a big issue for farmers, so this is particularly attractive as it's a lightweight machine," she said.

"It's not cheap though - hopefully the cost will come down in future years as the technology develops."

The AgBot can be operated with a hand-held controller, or even with an app on the phone.

Fields have to be mapped in precise detail to show obstacles such as trees or paths, so it knows where to go, but once that has been done it is designed to work for 23 hours without direct supervision.

Esmor Hughes, lecturer at Coleg Glynllifon, said: "It's not going to take over every task in the life of a farm, but it's here as an aid to make farmers' lives easier.

"One farmer might be able to run four of these at the same time and they can carry on doing other jobs while they're doing the more monotonous tasks.

"It's been developed in an area where there are large, flat, open fields - not quite the sort of thing that we have everywhere in north Wales.

"Our job - with the students - is to research how it can work with the type of farming we have here.

"It's a great opportunity for the young farmers training here to get to know cutting edge technology as part of their courses."

Harry Collins, a senior manufacturing research engineer, said the tractor has a built-in safety system and can recognise obstructions in its path, providing the user with a list of options for fixing problems it spots.