AnengineermaneuversafarmrobotinafieldattheDiantianFarminShanghaionJan25.ZHAOYIHE/XINHUASHANGHAI—Ruralfarminghaslongbeencloselyassociatedwithcattle,plowsandtoil.Today,therearealsoagriculturalrobotsandallsortsofotherintelligentequipment,markingasignificantshiftinagriculturalpractices.AttheDiantianFarminruralShanghai,thistransformationisnoticeable.Here,robotsoperatedbyengineershavereplacedconventionalfarmingcattle.AmongtheengineersisLiWei,whowasspottedguidinghisagriculturalrobotwithprecision,clutchingacontroller.Heisjustoneofover70engineersworkingattheDiantianruralcooperative,wherericeisthemaincrop.Overthepastsevenyears,theyhavebeenengagedinresearchanddevelopment,resultinginthecreationofover60typesofagriculturalrobotscapableofperformingtasksrangingfromplantingtoharvesting.Therobotsusecrawlerfeetthatcanadeptlynavigatevarioustypesofterrain,whiletheirartificialintelligenceoperatingsystemservesasthebraintoplantheirmovements.FarmerssimplyneedtologontothesystemthroughtheWeChatminiprogramontheirmobilesphonessandswitchontherobots."Igrewupinthecountryside,andIknowfarmworkcanbeextremelyexhausting,"saidWangJinyue,headoftheDiantianagriculturalcooperative.Incontrasttothepast,alonglineofagriculturalrobotsaredottingthefieldtoassistwithfarmworktoday.Theyoperateefficiently,accuratelyandtirelessly,saidWang,notingthattechnologiessuchas5G,imagerecognitionandbigdataenabletherobotstoswiftlycalculatethedistancetothecropsandachieverapidharvestingwithinseconds.Theweedingrobotscannotonlyaccuratelydistinguishbetweengrassandcrops,butalsoguidethespecializedbladestoremoveweedsprecisely,hesaid,addingthateachweedingrobotcanoperateforeighthoursonaone-hourcharge.TheagriculturalrobotsatDiantianFarmareequippedwithChina'sBeiDouNavigationSatelliteSystem,alsoknownasBDS.BDSisusedinmorethan100,000setsofagriculturalmachineryautomateddrivingsystemsinChina.Themodernizationofagricultureisunderwaythroughoutthecountry.InHanzhong,Shaanxiprovince,intelligentequipmenthasmadevegetablecultivationmorecost-effectiveandefficient.Here,anautomatedvegetablefarmhasachievedunmannedproductionintheentireprocessofcultivatinggreenleafyvegetables.Avegetableplantingareaspanningabout13hectaresrequiresonlyfivefarmers.Chinaunveiledits"No1centraldocument"for2024earlierthismonth,outliningtheprioritiesforcomprehensivelypromotingruralvitalizationthisyear.Thedocumentcalledforconsolidatingthesupportofagriculturalscienceandtechnologyandintensifyingtheresearchoncoretechnologiesofgermplasmresources.AccordingtotheMinistryofAgricultureandRuralAffairs,thecontributionrateofagriculturalscientificandtechnologicalprogressexceeded62percentin2022,withtheoverallmechanizationrateofcropcultivationandharvestreaching73percent.XinhuaEditor:DisclaimerTheviewsandopinionsexpressedinthisarticlearethoseoftheauthor's,GMW.cnmakesnorepresentationsastoaccuracy,suitability,orvalidityofanyinformationonthissiteandwillnotbeliableforanyerrors,omissions,ordelaysinthisinformation.