Xinjiang deploys 108-arm robot for cotton plant topping

The device has 108 mechanical arms, moves across cotton fields like a slow-moving tank, and is capable of performing more than 300,000 cuts per hour. It is not a new weapon from a superhero film, but a real robot built to carry out one of agriculture’s most gruelling tasks: topping cotton plants. The unmanned machine, developed by Chinese engineers, is now operating across the vast cotton fields of the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region in north-western China, the country’s largest cotton-producing area. Standing 3.8 metres tall and weighing 8 tonnes, the cotton topping robot is equipped with advanced sensors and machine vision systems. According to its manufacturer, Viewer Tech, an agricultural robotics company based in Xinjiang, the machine can cover up to 2 hectares per hour, with an efficiency approximately 120 times that of manual labour. Trials indicate that this robotic approach can increase average yields by nearly 600 kg per hectare, with net profits rising by more than 3,000 yuan (1 yuan = Rp2,643) per hectare, said Liu Hangxing, general manager of Viewer Tech. For generations, cotton plant topping has been synonymous with backbreaking work under the scorching summer sun. Farmers had to walk row by row, manually pruning the tops of each cotton plant to control height and suppress the growth of unproductive branches. The task demands careful judgement: weaker plants require less pruning, while stronger ones need more. Manual topping, previously the only option, often produced uneven results due to variations in workers’ skill and speed, directly affecting yields. The new robot, now in its fourth generation, uses binocular vision cameras and artificial intelligence algorithms to scan each plant, determine the topping point within milliseconds, and direct its 108 mechanical arms to make the cut. From identification to action, the entire process mimics the hand techniques of experienced cotton farmers. Xinjiang’s cotton sector is already among the most mechanised in the world, with overall mechanisation rates for cultivation and harvesting exceeding 97 percent. ‘With this robot, we can achieve full mechanisation and intelligence across the entire cotton growth cycle,’ said Zhou Shuai, general manager of Xinmiao Agricultural Technology, a company based in Shihezi, a major cotton-producing area in northern Xinjiang. Founded by a group of entrepreneurs born in the 1990s, the company manages approximately 133 hectares of cotton fields. Zhou said he was impressed by the robot’s efficiency, noting that its daily output matches that of 50 to 60 workers. He added that the topping success rate has surpassed 90 percent. Prior to adopting the robot, Zhou’s company had already automated irrigation, fertilisation, spraying, and weeding using domestically developed BeiDou satellite positioning technology and AI. The entire field operation is now managed by just five people. The cotton topping robot is just one example of a broader push towards agricultural automation across Xinjiang. In recent years, companies, universities, and research institutes have intensified innovation and research and development efforts in cotton machinery, focusing on precision, efficiency, and intelligence. Last year, a collaborative effort between Xinjiang University and EAVISION, a robotics technology company based in Xinjiang, successfully developed a laser-based cotton topping robot. ‘Robotics technology is becoming increasingly mature,’ said Pei Xinmin, a researcher at the Xinjiang Agricultural and Rural Mechanisation Development Centre. ‘It is not just about cotton. This technology provides a replicable model for smart agriculture in other crops, thereby accelerating the digital transformation of the agricultural sector across Xinjiang.’