A new breed of robots with humanoid hands capable of performing delicate tasks such as picking soft fruit has been made possible after a technological breakthrough from scientists at Stanford University.

At an indoor farm in Silicon Valley, California, a mobile robot carries a tray of tiny plants—curly kale, Romaine lettuce, basil—to a robotic arm, which transplants them into a bigger tray to grow to size.

Through the investment Kubota intends to contribute to labor-saving and efficiency improvement in farming. Also, Kubota will launch a rice planting machine with automated driving functions in October.

Robots and autonomous combine harvesters are the main drivers behind a growing precision harvesting market.

The Robotriks Traction Unit (RTU), created by start-up company Robotriks, costs just £7,000 – almost a tenth of the cost of most other products on the market.

Polymath Robotics is a new company, launched in order to develop general autonomy software for industrial and agricultural vehicles.