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A new £6.3 million government grant is turning the Lincoln Institute for Agri‑Food Technology into a national robotics hub. The funding will accelerate projects such as Earth Rover’s CLAWS robot – a solar‑powered, AI‑driven system that zaps weeds with focused bursts of light – and other prototypes that can pick strawberries or monitor plant health with UV light instead of chemicals. AI Minister Kanishka Narayan highlighted the robots’ ability to cut costs, sustain farm profitability and protect jobs, saying the technology will "fill gaps and boost their business rather than taking jobs from workers." Local farmer James Brown welcomed the investment, calling Lincolnshire a potential "global leader in agriculture" and noting that the weed‑zapping tech could dramatically reduce pesticide use. The centre joins seven other specialist robotics hubs across the UK, part of a £40 million programme aimed at spreading advanced automation from surgery to driverless cars.
Key developments:
• £6.3 million dedicated to scaling weed‑zapping, strawberry‑picking and plant‑monitoring robots.
• Earth Rover’s CLAWS robot already deployed in five countries, showcasing commercial viability.
• Integration of AI vision, UV treatment and solar power to replace chemical inputs.
Why it matters:
• Addresses labour shortages and rising operating costs for UK farms.
• Promises environmental gains by cutting pesticide and fertilizer use.
• Positions the UK as a leader in precision‑agriculture technology, attracting global investment.
What to watch next:
• Field trials and farmer adoption rates throughout 2027.
• Commercial rollout of modular robots that combine weeding, spraying and harvesting.
• Follow‑on funding for the eight national robotics hubs and potential export of UK‑developed farm robots. [[1]]