[ti:Robot Leads Cattle to Greener Fields]
[al:Science & Technology]
[ar:VOA]
[dt:2024-12-23]
[by:www.voase.cn]
[00:00.00]Researchers in Australia are using a robot powered by artificial intelligence (AI) to improve the way farmers raise cattle.
[00:15.55]The robot has four wheels and is painted red.
[00:20.61]Researchers have named the robot cow SwagBot.
[00:26.30]It can drive by itself and move cows from one field to another based on the condition of the soil and plant life.
[00:37.26]Researchers at the University of Sydney in Australia said SwagBot is becoming the world's first "smart cow." 
[00:49.17]They believe it can make cattle farming more efficient and put less pressure on the environment.
[00:59.05]Swagbot was first launched in 2016.
[01:04.43]At that time, it could only move around fields where cattle graze.
[01:11.55]Over time, scientists have added sensors and AI systems to the robot.
[01:19.39]These systems help SwagBot judge the health, type, and thickness of grasses and plants in fields and to observe the health of the cattle.
[01:34.42]The robot uses this information to move cattle to the best areas for grazing.
[01:42.64]The goal is to move cattle to a new grazing area before they have damaged the grass in a particular field.
[01:52.98]This can prevent damage to the soil. 
[01:57.76]The robot can also send the information back to farmers.
[02:03.52]Salah Sukkarieh is a professor of robotics and intelligent systems at the University of Sydney. 
[02:12.12]His team made SwagBot.
[02:16.10]He said that once cattle feel at ease near the robot, they follow it around.
[02:24.68]"You want to move the animals to the right part of the pasture where there is good protein, good carbs," he said. 
[02:35.25]Sukkarieh added that it is important to move the cattle easily and without fences.
[02:43.05]Australia is one of the world's biggest exporters of beef.
[02:48.49]It has around 30 million cattle spread across large areas that are often dry. 
[02:58.05]As a result, some pastures are of low quality and do not have a lot of grass.
[03:05.81]Farmers carefully assess how many animals their land can support. 
[03:12.90]However, many farmers have little control over where the animals graze within large areas of land.
[03:23.54]Overgrazing can lead to poor soil that supports less plant and animal life.
[03:33.19]Erin O'Neill is a part-time farmer who watched a recent demonstration of the robot in a field north of Sydney. 
[03:43.41]She said the robot can help farmers get detailed information about the current condition of their fields.
[03:53.37]She said the robot can tell farmers "what bits of pasture are most nutritious, particularly if you've got cattle like we do that are pregnant."
[04:07.51]O'Neill added that pregnant cattle need high-quality pastures to aid them through pregnancy.
[04:16.52]SwagBot is still in development.
[04:21.13]It is part of a growing movement in agriculture towards robotics.
[04:27.16]Farming experts hope robots can make production more efficient.
[04:33.33]Robots could also reduce the need for workers in places, like Australia, where finding workers in areas with a low population can be difficult.
[04:48.43]I'm Andrew Smith.