Yanmar has debuted a diesel-powered, high-seedling-density rice transplanter which features autonomous driving technology 
The vehicle uses self-driving and high-density seedling technology. Source: Yanmar Agri Corporationfor straight-line planting.
The YR8D, A, from Japan’s Yanmar Agri Corporation can operate in linear mode, where it automatically moves forward but turns between paddy rows aremanaged manually by an onboard driver. In auto mode, the equipment drives itself in a straight line and also handles the turns required to plant a field.
Operations are programmed from a waterproof tablet, and an onboard Global Navigation Satellite System module maintains vehicle positional awareness. Users can also set up an optional ground-located base station, which the vehicle uses for wireless communication to more accurately gauge its location.
High-density transplanting technology enables crop cultivation in a smaller area and savings in seedling boxes, soil and the requisite labor.
The utility of robots in agriculture is expanding, as evidenced by the design of insect-sized drones to aid the crop pollination process and the use of sensor-laden systems to monitor crop health.
