From dairies to restaurants, robots could be the future of food

A robotic dairy farm might sound like an idea straight out of a science fiction novel to some, but for Darleen Sichley, it’s actually old news.

“I think most people have that picture in their mind of, you know, you’re sitting down on a milking stool to milk your cow,” she said. Sichley is a third-generation dairy farmer. Her Silverton farm, Abiqua Acres, is completely family-owned and operated.

“We started with robotics in 2017 and it’s been a great transition,” she said.

Tech and food have gone together since our ancient ancestors made stone hand axes, and technological developments have been fundamental to the project of feeding humanity since the agricultural revolution millennia ago. Increasingly, automated systems — you might call them robots — are part of that equation.

From picking fruit, serving food, and milking cows to doing dishes at a restaurant, robots help fewer people do more, all while making work safer for humans.