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Robots Could Soon Remake Agriculture—For Better and Worse

Robots Could Soon Remake Agriculture—For Better and Worse

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Around 87 million metric tons of apples are produced globally each year—a haul that takes tremendous coordination, time and labor. L.A.-based Wavemaker Labs recently acquired the intellectual property behind an automated apple-picking robot that uses artificial intelligence to eye an apple tree and suck the ripe apples right off the branch. Reporter David Shultz looks at the technology's potential implications for farmers, farm workers and shoppers.

Here’s what else we’re reading in the news:

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Santa-Monica based automation incubator Wavemaker Labs has revived technology that promises to change the game for apple orchards—but labor advocates fear what such automation could mean for America's 2.5 million farm workers.

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Lockheed Martin has called off its $4.4 billion acquisition of rocket propulsion manufacturer Aerojet Rocketdyne after the Federal Trade Commission filed an antitrust lawsuit accusing the aerospace giant of attempting to create a monopoly.