Scottish group aims to revolutionise farming with robots and 5G comms
3 July 2025 
A group of technology organisations and agricultural research institutions is developing 5G-connected robotics applications that will allow Scottish farmers to implement precision agriculture techniques, while addressing rural connectivity issues.
The consortium consists of the National Robotarium, Boston Dynamics, the Scotland 5G Centre, the James Hutton Institute and Freshwave. It is developing robotic systems that can perform precision farming tasks – such as crop health monitoring, targeted fertiliser application, and soil condition assessment – via portable 5G private networks.
The technology addresses challenges facing modern agriculture, such as rising input costs, labour shortages, environmental regulations, and the need to increase food production while reducing environmental impacts. Traditional farming approaches often involve applying uniform treatments across entire fields, but 5G-connected robotics can allow plant-by-plant precision, applying resources only where needed.
The robotic systems use high-speed 5G connections to communicate securely with other systems in real time, and to transmit detailed information about crops, soil conditions, and growing environments, allowing farmers to make informed decisions based on their current field conditions.
A key breakthrough has been addressing the limited connectivity in rural areas. Agricultural operations requiring data-intensive robotic applications often face inadequate mobile network coverage and bandwidth constraints. The partnership is using portable 5G private networks that can be deployed rapidly on farms to provide the high-speed, low-latency connections needed for real-time robotic operations.
The systems can stream high-definition video, generate detailed maps of fields and, with visual recognition systems currently being developed, could identify issues such as disease, pest infestations, or water stress much earlier than traditional monitoring methods. Applications that previously required expensive specialised equipment, technical expertise, and optimal weather conditions can now be implemented more efficiently and cost-effectively.
In future, the 5G networks could be used for swarm robotics, real-time sensors for digital twinning, and active data processing through cloud computing.
“What’s exciting about this project is seeing the technology develop from initial concept to working demonstration,” says Ruth Plant, project manager at the National Robotarium, which is based at Heriot-Watt University. ““We’ve successfully shown that portable 5G networks can provide the connectivity needed for real-time robotic operations in agricultural settings. The integration of these technologies creates opportunities for precision farming that were not previously possible in areas with limited connectivity.
“This partnership demonstrates exactly what the National Robotarium was designed to achieve – bringing together leading academic research, innovative companies, and industry expertise to develop practical solutions to real-world challenges,” she adds. Our facility provides the collaborative environment where these breakthrough technologies can be developed, tested, and demonstrated to the partners and stakeholders who can help bring them to market.”
Scotland’s agricultural sector, which contributes £2.2bn to the nation’s economy, is positioned to lead development of practical precision farming techniques that address real-world challenges.
National Robotarium: LinkedIn
