Will China’s AI-powered agribots repeat its EV success story?

China's AI capabilities and mass production strengths position it to lead in agricultural robotics, similar to its success in electric vehicles, according to GrainCore Dynamics founder Zhao Feng. The nation's aging agricultural workforce presents an opportunity for AI-powered agribots to transform farming efficiency.

Will China’s AI-powered agribots repeat its EV success story? Chinese tech and mass production capabilities could transform the nation’s farming industry with AI-enabled workforce Mandy Zuo /author/mandy-zuo in Shanghai China’s agricultural workforce https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3346235/china-targets-record-food-security-push-shadow-us-israeli-war-iran?module=inline&pgtype=article has more than halved, leaving largely the elderly, the infirm and the disabled to tend vast expanses of farmland https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3355837/china-backs-ai-gene-editing-bolster-its-food-security-risky-new-era?module=inline&pgtype=article , operating small-scale plots with relatively low efficiency. tech revolution https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3347333/how-chinas-tech-transformation-putting-worlds-factory-tough-spot?module=inline&pgtype=article may reshape this status quo, said Zhao Feng, founder of Shenzhen-based robotics firm GrainCore Dynamics. With its artificial intelligence capabilities and strength in mass production, Zhao said, China was well-positioned to overtake in agricultural robotics – in similar fashion to its rapid progress in new energy and electric vehicles EVs after lagging behind in combustion-engine cars. Chinese agriculture “may appear to have a serious ageing problem, but within this crisis lies opportunity”, Zhao said, noting that globally, only China possessed both the AI technology and the manufacturing capacity for robotics production at scale. Chinese carmakers https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3355519/europes-bet-chinese-ev-joint-ventures-may-be-solving-yesterdays-problem?module=inline&pgtype=article trying to catch up with BMW and Mercedes – after 30 years we still hadn’t closed the gap on their century-old technological edge,” he said. “But then new energy vehicles gave us a short cut and we leapfrogged them in just 10 years.” GrainCore Dynamics is among China’s first companies focusing on integrating embodied intelligence into agriculture.