As more U.S. farms adopt robots and highly automated machines as solutions to labor shortages, California, the largest agricultural state in the country, is facing questions about how to regulate and ensure the safety of these technologies. John Shutske, professor and extension specialist in the Department of Biological Systems Engineering, recently presented his recommendations at California’s Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board’s inaugural Autonomous Agricultural Tractors Advisory Committee meeting.

“California’s need to adopt the modern risk assessment ideas and methods we have developed in our research is critical because they have a huge influence on new ag technology development and design,” says Shutske. “California is a significant market for the farm equipment industry, ranging from large, multi-national manufacturers to smaller startup ag machinery companies.”

Shutske emphasizes that there could be significant adverse impacts if California’s workplace safety policies are not carefully updated based on modern research and lessons learned from other industries. The current 1970s-era regulations, if left as they are, will hinder crucial innovations that are needed across the U.S., including Wisconsin.

Shutske’s research in this area over the last five years has led to recommendations for a multi-layered approach to the safety of autonomous tractors and robotic machines. Engineers designing the machines need past injury and incident data as one layer. Data collection onboard these machines should show how safety systems perform and what a robot “sees” over multiple seasons in a range of conditions. This information is required to show that, with well-designed machines, there is a high percentage of successes and few or no failures in safety functions that protect people and property.

Other layers in Shutske’s recommendations include the documented use of:

• Safety and engineering design standards
• Full consideration and documented compliance with functional safety standards
• Multidisciplinary input from engineers, dealers, technicians, farm operators and farmworkers about risk assessment during design and testing

“What starts in California will most definitely influence the rest of the country. In Wisconsin, we see the adoption of more automated machines and robots for dairy-related jobs and field tasks in crop operations,” says Shutske. “When there is a serious injury on a farm from these new systems, there will be a call for new programs and regulations, so what I’m recommending in California is important here in Wisconsin, too.”