Robotics & Field Automation
Robotics: Features & Capabilities
Every capability in Robotics, grouped by what it is for.
Robotics carries 12 capabilities and 5 interactive tools. They are grouped below by what they are for rather than by which screen they live on, because the underlying record is shared.
Capabilities
What Robotics does
Every capability below is built on the same underlying record, so entering something once is enough for it to appear wherever it is needed.
Record and plan
- Robotic and autonomous system appraisal against the operation replaced
- Labour substitution modelling with availability and cost inputs
- Trial management with structured performance measurement
Operate and monitor
- Shared access and contracting arrangements rather than outright purchase
- Autonomous operation safety case and risk assessment records
- Compaction benefit modelling from lighter autonomous platforms
Comply and evidence
- Mechanical and laser weeding performance recording
- Robotic milking and feeding integration with the livestock modules
- Automated harvesting trial recording for horticultural crops
Analyse and improve
- Supplier viability assessment given the sector failure record
- Grant alignment with automation and robotics funding rounds
- Total cost of ownership including support, downtime and obsolescence risk
In the field
Robotics, as it actually looks
Photography from working UK holdings alongside the interface that records it. Every frame below is a commissioned slot: the brief is stated until the photograph is taken.
Robotics — a walkthrough
A working pass through robotics: entering the record once, and watching it appear in the evidence pack, the calendar and the scheme application without being typed again.
- 0:00 What the module is for
- 0:48 Entering the record
- 2:05 Where it appears next
- 3:20 The evidence pack
Photography slots state their own brief until the shot is commissioned, so the layout never shifts when real images arrive.
In practice
Six things Robotics changes on day one
None of these requires a new process. They all come from recording the work you already do, once, in a form the rest of the platform can use.
Robotic and autonomous system appraisal
Robotic and autonomous system appraisal against the operation replaced.
Labour substitution modelling with availability
Labour substitution modelling with availability and cost inputs.
Trial management with structured performance
Trial management with structured performance measurement.
Shared access and contracting arrangements
Shared access and contracting arrangements rather than outright purchase.
Autonomous operation safety case and
Autonomous operation safety case and risk assessment records.
Compaction benefit modelling from lighter
Compaction benefit modelling from lighter autonomous platforms.
By nation
The same job, four different sets of rules
Delivered by: Defra, the Rural Payments Agency, Natural England, the Environment Agency and the Forestry Commission.
Main scheme: Environmental Land Management, with the Sustainable Farming Incentive as the principal offer alongside Countryside Stewardship, capital grants and Landscape Recovery.
Delinked payments end after 2027. Windows have closed at short notice before, so budget-fill status is worth watching.
Delivered by: The Scottish Government and the Rural Payments and Inspections Division.
Main scheme: A four-tier framework under the Agriculture and Rural Communities (Scotland) Act 2024, with base and enhanced direct payments and elective and complementary tiers following.
Whole Farm Plan components are a condition of support and phase in over several years. Miss a component and the payment is at risk.
Delivered by: The Welsh Government and Rural Payments Wales.
Main scheme: The Sustainable Farming Scheme, with Universal, Optional and Collaborative layers, replacing the legacy area payment which phases out by 2029.
The Universal layer requires twelve actions, at least ten per cent habitat and a farm carbon baseline. Welsh language provision is a legal expectation, not an optional extra.
Delivered by: DAERA.
Main scheme: The Sustainable Agriculture Programme, with the Farm Sustainability Payment as the area-based safety net alongside beef, suckler, sheep, protein crop and horticulture schemes.
Conditionality now includes soil nutrient health and bovine genetics participation, and progressive capping applies above sixty thousand pounds.
Interactive
Tools you actually use, not screens you read
These are working interfaces inside the module — maps, calculators, planners and dashboards that respond to your own holding data.
Labour substitution calculator comparing robot cost against wage cost and availability
Labour substitution calculator comparing robot cost against wage cost and availability
CalculatorCompaction benefit model from platform weight and traffic pattern
Compaction benefit model from platform weight and traffic pattern
ToolTrial performance dashboard against the conventional control
Trial performance dashboard against the conventional control
DashboardSupplier viability scorecard including funding and support risk
Supplier viability scorecard including funding and support risk
ToolTotal cost of ownership comparator over the expected asset life
Total cost of ownership comparator over the expected asset life
ToolFind
Find contractors and dealers
Filter by type, nation, distance and accreditation. Results are ranked by relevance to your holding once your holding record exists, and alphabetically before that.
6 records shown from the platform’s own register
- Module Machinery, Fleet & Contracting Flagship
- Module Precision Agriculture, Guidance & Variable Rate Core
- Module Robotics & Field Automation Core
- Module Drones & Aerial Survey Core
- Module Satellite & Remote Sensing Core
- Module IoT Sensors & Rural Connectivity Core
Compared
Where Agrivencia differs from what already exists
The UK already has strong point tools. What it does not have is one record spanning them, or one view spanning four nations. That gap is the entire proposition.
| Agrivencia | Single-purpose farm software | Government portals | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Covers all four nations | Yes, each as a first-class tenancy | Usually one nation | One administration each |
| One record across domains | Yes — 84 modules, one data spine | Within its own domain only | Within its own scheme only |
| Scheme rules held as data | Yes, updated the day rules change | Rarely | Authoritative but not reusable |
| Assurance evidence auto-assembled | Yes, from operational records | Partially, per scheme | Not applicable |
| Whole-farm income optimisation | Across schemes and nature markets together | No | No |
| Offline field capture | Yes, designed first | Varies | Generally no |
| Marketplace and commerce | Multivendor with verification and escrow | Separate platforms | Not applicable |
| Farmer-owned data export | Published charter, open formats | Varies considerably | Limited |
This comparison describes categories of product rather than named competitors, and reflects our own assessment. Any specific product should be evaluated on its current published capability.
Data model
What the module records, and how it connects
These are the entities the module maintains. Because they are shared across the platform rather than owned by one screen, a record created here is available everywhere it is relevant.
- Robotic system
- Trial
- Performance record
- Labour comparison
- Safety case
- Supplier assessment
- Cost model
Every entity carries a full audit trail and is exportable in open formats under the Farm Data Charter.
Questions answered
What people ask about Robotics
Does this replace the software I already use?
Not necessarily. Agrivencia integrates with authoritative sources and mainstream packages rather than insisting on replacing them. Where an incumbent does one job well, the platform connects to it; where the job spans several systems and nobody does it, the platform does it.
Will it work where I have no signal?
Yes. Field capture in Robotics is offline first, storing locally and synchronising when a connection returns. Only around a fifth of UK farms report reliable signal across the whole holding, so this is a design assumption rather than a feature.
What happens when the scheme rules change?
Scheme rules are held as data rather than code, so a rate change, a cap change or a window closure is a content update that takes effect the same day. The platform also alerts you to what the change does to your own position.
Who owns the data I put in?
You do. The Farm Data Charter gives you a complete export in open formats at any time, and every instance of data sharing requires an explicit, revocable consent that is visible in your account.
Does it work if I farm across a border?
Yes, and that is one of the main reasons the platform exists. A business with land in more than one nation sees one reconciled view rather than two portals, with obligations and deadlines from both administrations in a single calendar.
Can my agronomist or land agent use it too?
Yes. You grant scoped, time-limited access per holding and per module, and you can revoke it in one click. Advisers never get a shared password or a blanket view.
What is the biggest limitation of this module?
Supplier failure leaving unsupported equipment. Mitigated by explicit viability scoring. We would rather state that plainly than let you discover it after signing.
See Robotics running on your own holding
Thirty minutes, using your parcels, your schemes and your enterprises rather than a sample farm. No obligation and no sales script — if it does not fit your business we will say so.
- Free tier available
- No card required
- Your data stays yours