AMD’s mid-range Radeon 500-series video cards are here

With last year’s Radeon RX 480, AMD wowed us with a $200 video card that could tackle VR and 1,440p gaming. But with its 500-series cards, it’s aiming to make an even bigger leap. How does 1,440p gaming beyond 60 frames per second sound? That’s what AMD is promising with the RX 580, the most powerful option in this new mid-range lineup. At the same time, the company is also unveiling cheaper cards, the RX 570, 560 and 550, which cater to gamers who might want to save a few more bucks, or want something that could fit into a tiny case.

While these cards aren’t enough of an improvement for 400-series owners to upgrade, their hardware changes are worth noting. They’re second-generation Polaris GPUs built on a third-gen FinFET (a type of 3D transistor) architecture. The 400-series cards, meanwhile, were manufactured on a much earlier FinFET process. All of that means AMD was able to make the new cards more efficient, as well as clock them to higher speeds (the RX 580 is around 150MHz faster than the RX 480).

Just like last year, AMD is targeting dedicated gamers who are still running older GPUs, so it’s placing a priority on affordability. Prices will fall in line with the previous models, with the RX 580 going for around $229 with 8GB of RAM and $200 with 4GB. The RX 570, which aims for “maximum” 1080p gaming, will go for around $169, while the slightly slower RX 560 will start at $99. At the lowest end there’s the RX 550, which AMD sees a step up from integrated graphics for $79. The RX 580 and 570 should hit stores today, while the 550 will come on the 20th. You’ll have to wait until May to see the RX 560, unfortunately.

While the 500-series are improvements, they’re still very much mid-range video cards. We’re still waiting for AMD to announce its high-end Vega GPUs, which will likely go toe-to-toe with NVIDIA’s powerful GTX 1080 Ti in the 4K gaming arena. Rumors previously pointed to a Vega announcement in the second quarter, but at this point it seems more likely we’ll get something around E3 in June.

Pandora’s on-demand streaming service is available to everyone

It’s been just about a month since Pandora unveiled its attempt at building full-fledged, on-demand streaming music service. Aside from a handful of bugs, the big problem with Pandora Premium was that it was invite only. That’s changing today: Pandora Premium is now available for anyone to try. Like just about every other streaming music service, it’ll run you $9.99 per month and the app is available for Android and iOS (a web version of Pandora’s on-demand service is coming soon).

If you didn’t catch the news in March, Pandora Premium has a few notable features that set it apart from the competition. If you put a few songs into a playlist, the app will use Pandora’s Music Genome Project to automatically add sonically similar tunes. If you’ve been using Pandora for a long time, it’ll draw on your listening history and “thumbs-up” songs to build you custom playlists and recommend new releases that are tailored specifically to your music history. And from a design perspective, Pandora is one of the simplest and best-looking streaming music services I’ve tried. There are a number of kinks that need to be worked out, but there’s enough good stuff going on in Pandora Premium that I’ll be keeping an eye on it to see how the service improves over time.

Pandora’s also putting some cash and big names behind its new service to make sure it doesn’t get lost amidst Spotify, Apple Music and all the rest. The company’s “Sounds Like You” campaign will feature 18 different artists including Big Sean, Gorillaz, Questlove, 2 Chainz, Halsey, Keith Urban, Maggie Rogers, Pitbull, Ziggy Marley and a bunch more. That’s a lot of star power to throw behind its new service — here’s hoping that all the artists involved don’t pull their music from other streaming services. While an ad campaign isn’t generally all that exciting, Pandora did confirm that they’ll be hosting exclusive “mixtapes” from each of the 18 artists involved in the campaign that feature the songs that have inspired them the most over the years. So if you want to know what drove Gorillaz to get as weird as they are, you’ll want to tune in to these mixes.

If you’re ready to give Pandora Premium a try, the company is offering either 30 or 60 days for free, depending on where you sign up. Signing up on Pandora’s site will net you the longer free trial and lower monthly price, as the company charges more when you sign up inside the app itself — thank Apple and its 30 percent cut from subscriptions for that. And if you’ve been paying for the $5 Pandora Plus service, you’ll get a whopping six months of Premium at that same price point. Considering how much more you get with Premium, doing that is basically a no-brainer. Pandora hasn’t tweaked anything else over the last month, but we should see the app get some tweaks and improvements in the coming months, as well.

Master & Dynamic developed its own concrete for its first speaker

When a company moves into a new product category, it’s important to make a statement with that first device. Master & Dynamic has been designing some of the best-looking headphones you can buy for just under three years; today it’s introducing its first speaker, the MA770. This isn’t just any wireless speaker, though. Rather than using wood, plastic or metal for the primary material on the MA770, Master & Dynamic chose concrete. That decision led the company to develop its own composite and collaborate with world-renowned architect Sir David Adjaye on the design.

Sure, concrete speakers have been done before, but Master & Dynamic went a step further. The company developed a proprietary concrete composite, which it says provides increased damping and lower resonance. The final form of the MA770 is one solid molded piece. In fact, Master & Dynamic’s chief product officer Drew Stone Briggs told me the damping properties of this concrete composite are five times better than wood and 10 times better than plastic.

“We set out to use concrete not just because it’s cool, but we liked it for the ability to completely control every aspect of it,” he explained. “Not only can we control it for sound-dampening and to make it a much better acoustic enclosure, since it’s our material, we can change every aspect of the tuning. That’s what makes it special.”

The increased damping means you can position a turntable close to the MA770 and crank the volume up without worrying about the record skipping.

The MA770 is, unsurprisingly, a beast of a wireless speaker. It sits 20 inches wide by 16 inches tall and weighs 35 pounds. Yes, that heft is because it’s made of concrete. That’s also only a smidge lighter than the Sonos Sub, that company’s beefiest speaker. While it sounds like a huge device, it really isn’t. When you first walk into a room and see one sitting on a shelf or in the middle of the table, it immediately grabs your attention, but not in an overly imposing fashion. It’s the combination of shape and materials, rather than its size, that catches your eye.

Master & Dynamic’s speaker is a collaboration with Ghanaian-British architect Sir David Adjaye. You might not recognize the name immediately, but you may have seen one of his recent projects: the National Museum of African-American History and Culture at the Smithsonian in Washington. Adjaye worked with Master & Dynamic on the overall design and shape of the MA770, using triangles to “break down the mass of the box” rather than keep with the convention of rectangular enclosures.

“He really understands how forms work and he works with concrete all the time,” Master & Dynamic founder and CEO Jonathan Levine told me. “He was very involved. This isn’t a project where he just assigns his name and hands it off.”

Adjaye created an angular geometric shape that not only gives the MA770 a distinct look but helps with the overall acoustic properties of the speaker. The architect uses a lot of angles and geometric shapes in his work and that certainly carries over here. In fact, there are some obvious aesthetic similarities between the exterior of the newest Smithsonian museum and Master & Dynamic’s new speaker.

At a time when you can get wireless speaker that’s small enough to fit in your pocket, the company is going big with its first offering. With Adjaye’s experience designing large structures, it’s no surprise the MA770 has a considerable size. In fact, creating something small and portable — two big selling points for a lot of speakers these days — wasn’t on the table.

“The only parameters we gave to David were we didn’t want a portable thing — we wanted something with stature and scale,” Levine continued. “And David did the majority of the design work.”

Aside from the concrete shell, Master & Dynamic opted for a magnetic etched steel grille to protect the speaker’s components on the front side. The metal shields sensitive parts, and reminds me of the company’s headphone designs. On models like the MH40 and others, Master & Dynamic combines steel and aluminum with leather to achieve its signature look. It’s removable, which is a nice touch. The company gives you the option of covering those dual woofers and tweeter or leaving the smooth concrete surface exposed.

The controls on the front of the speaker are also situated on a metal strip, but all the text is in white, so you can’t see them unless you’re standing right at the speaker. This attention to detail gives the MA770 a seamless facade rather than a front panel that’s littered with controls and icons. There are buttons for switching between audio sources, play/pause and volume adjustments.

As far as connectivity goes, the MA770 has a 3.5-inch auxiliary port and an optical input around back. It’s also equipped with Bluetooth and WiFi for wireless audio streaming. Thanks to that internet connection, the speaker features Chromecast built-in to easily connect to all of your go-to apps. The decision to go with Google’s audio standard means that MA770 is not only a breeze to set up but Master & Dynamic won’t clutter up your phone with a dedicated app just for its speaker. There’s no AirPlay option, and Apple Music doesn’t support Chromecast, so that’s something to consider if you’re a fan of that particular service.

“[Chromecast] allows us to focus on what we do well,” Stone Briggs explained. “We thought about an app, but not for very long.” He said that while the company is certainly capable designing its own software, everything it needed for the speaker — setup, connectivity, multiroom audio and more — is already supported in Google’s platform. That meant there really wasn’t a need to create a companion app.

Speaking of Chromecast, the MA770 is the first wireless speaker to use Google’s connectivity tool for stereo pairing. You could already use Chromecast to group speakers or a set up multiroom configuration, but now you can use it to use two speakers in stereo. This means that if you have two speakers, you can opt for true left and right channels in a room rather than just grouping them for louder sound.

In terms of audio, the MA770 carries the trademark Master & Dynamic sound profile that doesn’t futz too much with the EQ from what the artist intended. What you get is a more natural sound where highs, mids and lows are all equally represented. There’s enough bass for genres like hip-hop and others, but it never comes close to being overwhelming. The company said it still has some work to do for the final sound, but even at the not-quite-finished stage, the audio and power on display here is pretty damn impressive.

Vocals are also prominent in the sound profile. This was evident even in grungy early ’90s rock songs, where the words tend to blend in with the distorted guitars and pounding drums — I could hear Scott Weiland’s throaty growls a bit clearer on “Dead & Bloated” over the MA770 than I typically can on a set of headphones. It’s not a huge difference, but it’s noticeable, and for some genres is actually quite nice.

As you might expect, a premium speaker that’s made out of concrete commands a premium price. The MA770 will set you back $1,800 when it arrives in the middle of next month. If you really want to make sure you can get one, Master & Dynamic is taking preorders starting today. Of course, a near-$2,000 asking price puts the company’s first speaker on par with the likes of Bang & Olufsen when it comes to cost. Like B&O, Master & Dynamic considers its speaker somewhat of a showpiece — a piece of art rather than just some audio gear.

Despite the unique mix of design and materials, the MA770 still costs much more than what you can get from Sonos and others. For example, $1,800 is enough to cover a Playbar, Sub and a pair for Play:1 speakers from Sonos. There’s also the more-compact Play:5 for $500. Master & Dynamic is going after people who want something that’s not mass-produced or available everywhere. This is a high-end device, and to get one you’ll have to be willing to pay a high-end price.

“I had this idea that someone buys it and it becomes the centerpiece in their living room,” Levine said. “Eventually it becomes a family heirloom that their kids ask to take with them when they move out of the house.” He compares it to what a turntable was years ago; many people recall that setup as focal point in the home. Tech moves a lot faster these days, so it could be tough to fill that void with a wireless speaker.

That price may be a turnoff for many, but what Master & Dynamic has built here is still a compelling package. Aside from using its own type of concrete to enhance the acoustic properties of the speaker and simple operation with Chromecast, the MA770 stands out in a product space that’s dominated with plastic, wood and metal. The architectural aesthetic under Adjaye’s direction breaks from the round and rectangular boxes we’re used to seeing with speakers. If the MA770 is a sign of things to come for speakers from Master & Dynamic, it will be interesting to see what shape those future devices take.

Source: Master & Dynamic

Ecobee4 Thermostat to Come With Built-In Alexa Voice Assistant

The Ecobee4 will come with a built-in microphone for issuing Alexa-based voice commands, according to leaked marketing materials for the upcoming smart wireless thermostat (via The Verge).

Ecobee3 owners with supporting Amazon hardware have been able to use Alexa to control their devices since the thermostat maker added support in December, but it looks as if the next iteration of the product will include the virtual assistant as a built-in feature.

Apple initially leaked the existence of the Ecobee4 last month when it issued a list of HomeKit-compatible thermostats, while recent FCC filings showed what appeared to be a small rear-firing speaker on the upcoming device’s enclosure, hinting at Alexa voice integration.

That now looks to have been confirmed, courtesy of blogger Dave Zatz, who revealed on Monday the leaked promotional material. Users of the Ecobee4 will be able to not only adjust the temperature via their voice, but also “leverage many if not all of Amazon’s voice assistant capabilities” by speaking to the device, which features a signature blue Alexa light bar along the top.

Apart from Alexa integration, the ecobee4 is said to be sleeker than the existing ecobee3 thermostat, and will retain the latter’s HomeKit support; Ecobee3 devices received a software update back in January that added the feature. The number of leaks combined with steep discounts on existing Ecobee3 devices suggests the Ecobee4 will launch within the next couple of months.

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Bloomberg Backs Latest ‘iPhone 8’ Prototype Having Stainless Steel and Glass Design With Vertical Camera

Bloomberg today has published a detailed report about what it expects from the tentatively named iPhone 8.

“iPhone Edition” render by Japanese blog Mac Otakara
The report, citing people familiar with the matter, claims Apple’s latest prototype features a stainless steel frame sandwiched between symmetrical glass on the front and the back. That design, one of several that Apple has tested, would be similar conceptually to the iPhone 4 launched in 2010.

The overhauled iPhone will also adopt an OLED display that covers almost the entire front of the device, according to the report. The display itself will be flat, while the cover glass curves into the stainless steel frame along the edges. The cover glass will have similar 2.5D curvature as the iPhone 7.

The report backs rumors of Apple testing at least one high-end iPhone prototype with a rear dual-lens camera positioned vertically, instead of horizontally like on iPhone 7 Plus. Apple is also said to be testing dual lenses for a revamped front camera, compared to a single lens on current iPhones.

Apple has reportedly experimented with integrating the iPhone’s fingerprint scanner into the screen, but noted it would be technically challenging, and said it’s currently unclear if that feature will make it into the final product. Earlier research said Apple is facing yield issues with the under-display solution.

Apple also tested a prototype with a glass back that had more dramatic curves on the top and bottom like the original iPhone from 2007, perhaps alluding to a previous water drop design rumor, but the report says Apple is more likely to ship the version with more subdued curves due to mass production considerations.

Bloomberg believes that supply constraints could mean the high-end iPhone isn’t readily available until one or two months after Apple’s typical September event, where it is also expected to announce updated 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch iPhone models. All three new iPhones will run iOS 11 and could have faster Apple A11 chips.

Today’s report corroborates several “iPhone 8” design rumors that have surfaced in recent months, while the existence of multiple prototypes explains why some rumors have been conflicting so far.

Related Roundup: iPhone 8 (2017)
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May Cover of Food Magazine ‘Bon Appétit’ Shot on an iPhone 7

Food magazine Bon Appétit has used an iPhone to shoot the cover photography for its latest travel issue. The Condé Nast-owned publication follows in the footsteps of magazines like Billboard and Condé Nast Traveler, both of which have recently run covers shot on iPhones.

Bon Appètit has used iPhone-shot photos in the past – including in last year’s Culture issue – but this is the first time photography shot using Apple’s smartphone camera has graced the cover. The image, taken by Peden + Munk on an iPhone 7 Plus, shows a woman holding a strawberry Paleta, on location in the Tlacoula Market of Oaxaca, Mexico.

Peden told TechCrunch that the iPhone’s portability and the “comfortability [of] not having some humungous lens in your face” allowed them to work with a tiny crew, so it felt like a “throwback to the early days” of their career.

“It didn’t feel like a big magazine cover shoot where there were a bunch of assistants and light reflectors,” Peden said. “It felt very comfortable and natural.”

The photographers also said the VSCO app allowed them to edit photos while at their favorite bar or brunch spot, rather than having to drag out their laptop.

Creative director Alex Grossman said it made sense to lead with an iPhone picture for the May travel issue, given the close connection between photography and travel. The iPhone 7 “works really well picking up people and places”, said Grossman, and while it’s not completely comparable to “a $25,000 DSLR”, when shot in the right conditions, “99.9 percent of people out there” are unlikely to notice the difference.

Apple is a Bon Appétit advertiser, and an Apple ad on the back cover of the May issue highlights the fact that the cover photo was taken on an iPhone.

Related Roundup: iPhone 7
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Pickpocket steals 100 phones at Coachella festival, underestimates Find My Phone tech

Why it matters to you

Setting up and using a “Find My Phone” tracking system really can reunite you with a stolen or misplaced phone

Tracking technology for smartphones, whether it’s Apple’s Find My iPhone or Google’s Android Device Manager system, really can reunite you with a stolen or misplaced phone. Sometimes it can go above and beyond, and reunite many people with many phones in one go, and help police apprehend the nasty piece of work that took them in first place. One low-life thief discovered this the hard way at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.

More than 100,000 people attend the Coachella festival in California, but not everyone is there to have a good time. One man, subsequently identified as 36-year old New Yorker Reinaldo De Jesus Henao, came to steal smartphones. He wandered the festival space, pickpocketing his marks, and stashing the stolen goods in his backpack. When people began to notice their phones were missing, many decided to enlist the help of their respective “find my phone” service.

The stolen phones showed up as still being in the area, and owners were able to pinpoint their exact location, which was given to security personnel on site. Luckily, the thief wasn’t clever enough to turn off all the devices after nabbing them. In a statement released by the Indio Police Department, the pickpocket was apprehended and upon opening his backpack, more than 100 stolen phones were discovered inside. Devices were returned to owners who had already discovered their phones were missing, while the rest wait to be collected. Henao was arrested for theft and possession of stolen property.

While things worked out here, and the phones were returned with help from security and the police, we’d always recommend contacting law enforcement rather than go searching for a stolen phone using a tracking system yourself. Thieves are rarely nice people, and confronting them on your own isn’t a good idea. Find My iPhone and Android Device Manager are equally useful if you accidentally leave your phone somewhere, rather than it getting stolen. There are also plenty of other tracking services for phones out there, for both before and after you lose it.

With a radical redesign, the new Google Earth takes you on a brand-new voyage

Why it matters to you

Google Earth was a revolutionary app when it first came out, and with the latest relaunch, it might be once again.

When Google Earth first launched, it put global imaging in the hands of everyday users, letting all of us take a look at our homes, our neighborhoods, and our cities via satellite imagery. Back in 2005, it was a remarkable experience, but over the years it’s been sidelined by Google Maps and the ubiquity of map applications with satellite imagery.

Now, Google aims to change all that, unveiling a radically revamped version of Earth. Since it was never really intended to be a navigational aid, and other tools have filled that role, the new Google Earth is all about exploration — about taking you on a voyage.

“Nearly everyone who’s opened Google Earth in the last decade does the same thing first: They search for their home,” said Gopal Shah, product manager for Google Earth. “Home is how we orient ourselves — it’s where we start from.”

That’s how the new version of Google Earth came to be. By looking at the first experiences people had with it, Google tailored the new version to be something more than just a showcase for high-res satellite imagery. The new version of Google Earth introduces “Voyager” — a framework for delivering in-depth stories from all over the world.

Think of it like your own personal version of Planet Earth. Voyager is a compilation of interactive guided tours put together by “the world’s leading storytellers, scientists, and nonprofits.”

Through Voyager, you can visit the Gombe Stream National Park, and listen to Jane Goodall talk about her team’s chimpanzee research while guiding you through the thick Tanzanian jungle. Or, you can visit Mexico with a furry pink monster named Lola, as part of Sesame Street’s “Girl Muppets Around the World” tour.

The new Google Earth doesn’t just take you to exotic locales — it can also take you home.

“Home is not just how we understand our place in the world — it’s a means to connect to something bigger than ourselves,” Shah said.

That’s an important theme for the new Google Earth — finding ways to connect people to different locales, different ways of life, and different homes. Through a special Voyager story titled “This is Home,” users can take a guided tour through a variety of traditional homes from different cultures and nations.

The new Google Earth is available now on the web, Android, and Chrome, and will hit iOS in the near future.

With a radical redesign, the new Google Earth takes you on a brand-new voyage

Why it matters to you

Google Earth was a revolutionary app when it first came out, and with the latest relaunch, it might be once again.

When Google Earth first launched, it put global imaging in the hands of everyday users, letting all of us take a look at our homes, our neighborhoods, and our cities via satellite imagery. Back in 2005, it was a remarkable experience, but over the years it’s been sidelined by Google Maps and the ubiquity of map applications with satellite imagery.

Now, Google aims to change all that, unveiling a radically revamped version of Earth. Since it was never really intended to be a navigational aid, and other tools have filled that role, the new Google Earth is all about exploration — about taking you on a voyage.

“Nearly everyone who’s opened Google Earth in the last decade does the same thing first: They search for their home,” said Gopal Shah, product manager for Google Earth. “Home is how we orient ourselves — it’s where we start from.”

That’s how the new version of Google Earth came to be. By looking at the first experiences people had with it, Google tailored the new version to be something more than just a showcase for high-res satellite imagery. The new version of Google Earth introduces “Voyager” — a framework for delivering in-depth stories from all over the world.

Think of it like your own personal version of Planet Earth. Voyager is a compilation of interactive guided tours put together by “the world’s leading storytellers, scientists, and nonprofits.”

Through Voyager, you can visit the Gombe Stream National Park, and listen to Jane Goodall talk about her team’s chimpanzee research while guiding you through the thick Tanzanian jungle. Or, you can visit Mexico with a furry pink monster named Lola, as part of Sesame Street’s “Girl Muppets Around the World” tour.

The new Google Earth doesn’t just take you to exotic locales — it can also take you home.

“Home is not just how we understand our place in the world — it’s a means to connect to something bigger than ourselves,” Shah said.

That’s an important theme for the new Google Earth — finding ways to connect people to different locales, different ways of life, and different homes. Through a special Voyager story titled “This is Home,” users can take a guided tour through a variety of traditional homes from different cultures and nations.

The new Google Earth is available now on the web, Android, and Chrome, and will hit iOS in the near future.

Automated agriculture: Can robots, drones, and AI save us from starvation?

Agriculture has come a long way in the past century. We produce more food than ever before — but our current model is unsustainable, and as the world’s population rapidly approaches the 8 billion mark, modern food production methods will need a radical transformation if they’re going to keep up. But luckily, there’s a range of new technologies that might make it possible. In this series, we’ll explore some of the innovative new solutions that farmers, scientists, and entrepreneurs are working on to make sure that nobody goes hungry in our increasingly crowded world.

In Thomas Malthus’ seminal — though oft criticized — 1798 work, An Essay on the Principle of Population, the economist took a long view of human history, observing that human populations, when they have an abundance of food, grow until they strain their resources, at which point scarcity sets in. “Famine seems to be the last, the most dreadful resource of nature,” he said. “The power of population is so superior to the power in the earth to produce subsistence for man, that premature death must in some shape or other visit the human race.”

Poetic as Malthus’ prediction was, it did not come to pass. Instead, revolutions in industry and agriculture came, and with them, a substantial increase in the production and trade of food. The optimists won, while Malthus became the patron saint of crackpot economists, a ragged preacher on the streets of history.

Although modern economists and tech utopians view Malthus with scorn, his arguments were reasonable given the evidence at the time. Perhaps the new technologies that enabled the tremendous population growth of the last few centuries did not end the possibility of a Malthusian catastrophe, but merely delayed it? Humanity has been able to grow far, far beyond what Malthus could have imagined — rough estimates put the world population in 1800 at 890-980 million people, while today the world population exceeds 7.4 billion — but how long can this trend continue?

The world may need another agricultural revolution to sustain itself.

The UN expects the world population to reach 8.5 billion by the year 2030, and 9.7 billion by 2050. Much of the world’s population is concentrated in China and India; each of these countries currently have more than one billion people, with the population of India projected to surpass that of China by 2022.

New agricultural technologies and techniques have staved off the sharp famines that Malthus predicted. Though once humans had to plant seeds haphazardly by hand, seed drills enabled farmers to sow them in long, uniform lines. With steam-powered tractors, farmers could plow wide swaths of land, without the need for sluggish oxen. Threshing machines cut down the many hours devoted to threshing by hand.

With the world population climbing to ever more staggering heights, and with economic growth allowing for greater consumption, the world may need another agricultural revolution to sustain itself.

One answer to the problem may lie in automation. While agriculture has become increasingly automated over the last 200 years, the process is only accelerating. New technologies, and droves in particular, are allowing farmers to improve the efficiency of their crops and livestock production, as well as quickly neutralize threats such as disease or drought.

Drones may be the farm workers of the future

“There is some stigma to that word,” Dr. Lav Khot, a professor at Washington State University and specialist in site-specific crop management, says of the term “drone.” Many proponents of the commercial uses of drones prefer terms like “unmanned aerial systems,” a longer phrase that lacks the verbal punch. It’s not hard to see why: For many, the word “drone” evokes military hardware, flying machines that drop bombs or spy on targets from above.

Researchers like Dr. Lav Khot use drones for a variety of projects.

Washington State University

Researchers like Khot are experimenting with different ways that drones can be used in agriculture, beating these swords into plowshares. For growers, one of the most exciting uses for drones is crop imaging. Using drones equipped with multispectral sensors, farmers survey their land, taking images that reveal things like the fertility of specific patches of soil, how much water the crops need, and more.

In the past, farmers had to rely on satellite imaging to get such detailed maps of their land, which was a rather time consuming process. Satellite imaging often involves 14 day intervals, Khot told Digital Trends, and problems can arise due to cloud cover or other factors. With drones “you can get it when you want, hypothetically.”

That quick turnaround isn’t just convenient; in cases where plants are affected by disease or pests, it can be the difference between saving a harvest or watching it die. Speaking to The Guardian, Salman Siddiqui, a researcher from the International Water Management Institute, explains how drone imagery can be used to detect diseases and other stressors in plants. “Photosynthetic activity decreases, and that affects the chlorophyll,” he said — and multispectral imaging can detect these changes early, before the problems become so drastic as to produce signs that humans can see.

This is because chlorophyll, the molecule that gives leaves their green hue, draws in visible light, while reflecting a large amount of infrared light. When a plant is unhealthy, it will reflect more of the visible light hitting it, and reflect fewer infrared waves. Infrared imaging can show farmers if their plants are reflecting abnormal amounts of light, tipping them off to problems.

Agriculture, meet automation

One of Khot’s main projects at the moment focuses on irrigation, experimenting with different irrigation techniques and amounts of water, and using drone imagery to track the subsequent health of plants. Take subsurface irrigation, for example. This is a process where tubes that drip water are placed under the surface of the soil, delivering water directly to the roots of crops. Khot and his team adjust the location of the tubes, testing them at 15 or 30 centimeters below the surface of grapevines.

False-color images of a bean-breeding trial captured by a camera mounted on a drone. (Photo: Lav R. Khot/Washington State University & Phillip N Miklas/USDA-ARS)

They adjust the amount of water used as part of their research, and use drone imaging to map the crops, testing “to see if we can go to 60 percent or 30 percent, and still the plant can grow and produce as good a yield.”

Khot also works with irrigation above the surface, testing sprinklers based at low-elevation (no more than a foot above the surface) and moving the sprinklers closer to the canopy, which should reduce the evaporation that occurs as water moves through the air.

Robotic tendrils are spreading into every aspect of farming.

Khot’s research could take on new importance as climate change develops. “In Washington in 2015, we recorded the highest temperature for several years,” Khot said, a development that may be the result of climate change. To prepare for hotter years, Khot and his fellow researchers are testing different varieties of pinto beans to see how they react to differing amounts of water. This should help them discover which beans will be a better investment for farmers if temperatures rise in the future.

Not all uses for drones involve imaging. One project Khot describes is delightfully simple. Wanting to experiment with a larger model of UAS, a Yamaha RMAX — an unmanned helicopter that has been popular in Japan for spraying — Khot and his team came up with a clever solution to a problem that has plagued Washington farmers.

Cherries are one of Washington’s premier crops, and they face a disturbingly common pest: rain. “When the cherry fruit is ripe, it has high sugar content, and the skin becomes very thin,” Khot explains. When rainwater falls on the cherry orchards, it can sit on the canopy, and the thin-skinned cherries will absorb it. As the cherries drink up moisture, they begin to swell and split.

In Japan, the RMAX has been popular as an efficient, unobtrusive crop-duster. (Credit: Yamaha)

Cherry growers can try to minimize the damage from rainfalls by harvesting cherries quickly, or shaking the branches to cast off some of the water. Khot flew an RMAX at low altitudes — 35 to 50 feet — over orchards to disperse water from the canopies. It’s a more efficient method than manually shaking cherry trees by hand or by fan — and much cheaper than hiring a helicopter pilot to come and do it — but not a foolproof one. “The orchards here in Washington State, not all are flat; we’ve got sloping, and so every year there are some accidents with that,” Khot said.

More than just flying robots

Drones look to be a promising tool for farmers going forward, but they are not the only examples of automation sweeping the agrarian world. Robotic tendrils are spreading into every aspect of farming, bringing a cold touch even to that most intimate part of a farmer’s day: the milking of cows.

Machines handling the milking process seems like a win for farmers. Hand milking is rare today — after all, who wants to spend hours a day squeezing cow teats and suffering the jealous glares of calves? — as farmers have been using machines to pump milk for years now. These machines required human input, however; farmers still had to fasten cups to the cow’s teats, and stand by as the machines pumps out milk.

These vehicles could remove the limitations of the human body from a traditionally grueling industry.

With more modern technology, the milking process can be done without even that slight amount of human input. Advanced milking systems allow the cows to approach a milking robot when they feel like it. The cow, as trained by its owner, steps onto a plate, which initiates the milking process. The machine can recognize the cows by their tags, and if a specific cow has not been milked within a certain period of time, the machine will get to work, disinfecting the udder and attaching suction cups to the teats.

The whole process is convenient for farmers, and allegedly comfortable for the cows. Speaking to the BBC, farmer Robert Veich claims the process makes for happier, more productive animals, saying “Cows respond to comfort. It has gone from 28 litres to 36 litres average a day, without a significant increase in feed cost.”

Dairy farms aren’t the only place that automation has taken hold, either. Lately, it’s even begun to hit fruit orchards – which have been remarkably resistant to mechanization over the years. Until recently, fruit picking has managed to withstand the march of automation, largely because fruits are delicate, and machinery could damage the crops or the trees that produce them. A 2011 issue of Migration News claims that most apple picking is still done by hand, and that the majority of laborer’s time is spent not picking the apples, but rather moving the ladders used to reach them and hauling bags of produce back and forth. As Abundant Robotics CEO Dan Steere explained to Digital Trends, “the main problems are that fruit is hard for computers to see, and it’s delicate. Until now it has not been possible to either reliably identify produce or automate harvesting without damaging the produce.”

Automated tractors can cover wide swaths of land without human input, freeing up labor. (Photo: Case IH)

Despite the difficulties, engineers are looking for ways to make picking more efficient through automation. Steere’s company is working on a machine to pick apples; another company, Energid, has built a machine to pick oranges. Abundant Robotics’ apple picker uses a vacuum tube to suck apples off trees, while Energid’s orange harvesting robot shakes fruit from trees and catches them.

Prehaps the most iconic farming vehicle, the tractor, is undergoing a transformation of its own. Autonomous tractors, such as Case IH’s Autonomous Concept Vehicle, could replace human-operated tractors on many farms. The sleek machine does not even have a seat for a driver. It can travel along predetermined routes programmed by its operator, who can track the tractor’s movements and reroute it, if need be, with a tablet app. The tractor can even sense obstacles in its path, stopping to avoid collisions. Autonomous tractor manufacturers such as New Holland even claim that the vehicles will eventually be able to react to changes in the weather.

Running day or night, automation can make farming a 24/7 process. (Credit: Case IH)

Autonomous farm equipment isn’t simply a convenience, allowing farmers to kick back and sip coffee as robots do their work. Nor is it merely a tool to cut down on the costs of labor. These vehicles could remove the limitations of the human body from a traditionally grueling industry. Machines stand no risk of injury or maiming, only damage that can be repaired. Even more intriguing is that farming could become a 24-hour process, uninterrupted by darkness or the need for sleep.

The traditional image of a farmer as grizzled man in a Carhartt jacket, gripping the wheel of his John Deere with calloused hands, may soon fade into history. In his place, a buttoned-up man managing a fleet of machines with his iPad from the comfort of an office.

Will it be enough?

All these new technologies are dazzling, but the question remains: Will they be enough to sustain the growing maw of consumption? The Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN estimates that, in order to feed a growing and increasingly urban world population, annual grain production will need to increase to 3 billion metric tons; meat production will need to increase to 470 million metric tons. That’s a lot of food.

It would be naïve to conclude that agricultural automation alone will be enough to save us.

Complicating matters is the fact that technology alone does not decide how much food the world eats. In the wake of globalization, trade carries food across borders and oceans. Wheat from Oregon ends up at mills in Asia, beef from Japan may end up on a plate in New York. Even if individual countries can increase food production through the use of automation, the state of international trade deals will determine where it goes. In a world in which nationalist competition seems ascendant, and trade deals stand on shakier ground, the global food trade network may change dramatically.

For these reasons, it would be naïve to conclude that agricultural automation alone will be enough to save us. The problem we face is complex and multifaceted, and no individual technological innovation is likely to change our fate by itself. But despite the fact that there will be no silver bullets in this struggle, we should take solace in the fact that automation is just one arrow in our technological quiver. One breakthrough idea or creative solution won’t be enough, but a hundred of them might do the trick — and if there’s one thing we have in abundance as a species, it’s creative ideas.

Ultimately, the past may be the greatest source of relief. History shows that technology can help feed the world, so we have every reason to believe it can continue to do so in the future.