The School of Agriculture, Policy and Development is playing an important role in the delivery of the exciting ‘Robot Highways’ project funded by Innovate UK. The collaborative project aims to ensure industry sustainability by addressing labour shortages, the need for global food production and reduce the environmental impact of the farming sector.

Reading researchers will be evaluating the economic benefits of the new robotic agricultural technologies, and bringing growers, policy-makers and tech developers together to create suitable robotic tech for agricultural use.

Dr David Rose, Associate Professor of Agricultural Innovation and Extension at the University of Reading, said:

“We will be analysing the economic impact of robotic farming technology to assess what benefits are possible. We will also be engaging with grower communities, policy-makers and tech developers to ensure that any solutions that are developed are co-designed and will be suitable for use out in the field.”

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