Farmers plough on with GPS breakthrough

Farmers in the US are set to usher in a second tech-fuelled agricultural revolution with the latest breakthrough in global positioning system (GPS) technology.

A GPS-enabled tractor designed by the University of Illinois can plough and sow corn fields in perfectly straight lines without the need for a human driver, receiving detailed location data from satellites.

Using video cameras, vehicle motion sensors and an onboard computer, it also knows to turn when it reaches the edge of the field and can control its own speed and tool implementation, according to US reports.

But before farmers start putting in their orders it is worth noting that there is no date given for when a commercially available version is likely to go on sale. A number of safety issues will have to be sorted out first.

At the moment the sensory equipment is not advanced enough to detect and avoid hitting moving obstacles such as cows or stray farm hands who might cross the tractor's path - much to their short-lived, rotavator-expedited regret.

However, farmers in the UK may still be looking at the possibility of getting satellite controlled robo-tractors to plough their fields long before BT rolls out broadband internet to their local exchanges. Such a technological anachronism would be an ironic twist lost on few.