Robots and Sustainability

UN Sustainable Development Goals: Agricultural robots & robots in
 food pocessing

Which of the 17 SDGs can be met with the support of robots?

  • Robots emerge as potent and versatile tools applicable across diverse sectors, encompassing both industry and services.
  • They hold significant potential to contribute to societal advancement in achieving the United Nations' sustainable development goals.
  • Sustainability, in this context, extends beyond mere economic or environmental concerns; it represents a universal commitment to eradicating poverty, safeguarding the planet, and ensuring global peace and prosperity for all by the year 2030.

Agricultural robots & robots in
 food pocessing

SDG 2: End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture

  • Robots help to limit the need for chemical control and fertilizers with a high degree of predictability and precision.
  • Small lightweight swarm robots reduce soil compaction and positively impact vegetation.
  • Automation in food production and processing can minimize food waste with a growing ability to handle more unequal products (different size and variations or organic grown vegetables).
    • Camera technology, artificial intelligence and collaborative robots are increasing the ability to deal with the huge variation in raw material.
  • Agricultural robots help monitor soil conditions, the health of plants and animals and adapt actions to very local conditions, even plant by plant
  • Robots  can  help  increased  the  yield  in  food production.
    • Use of a milking robot increases the amount per day that a cow produces
  • Vertical gardening & greenhouses increase the yield per m² used

Back to overview

Case Studies of Agricultural robots & robots in
 food pocessing (SDG 02)

Robots to deliver fresh, healthy food quickly and sustainably

Jan 25, 2024 Order picking has been automated with ABB robots at Heemskerk’s processing facility, reducing the amount of time that fresh food spends in the supply chain, which has ex-tended shelf life and minimized waste.

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Silke Lampe

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Nina Kutzbach

Assistant IFR Statistical Department

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