Global agricultural labor shortages and rising costs are driving a shift from human-dependent farming to automated solutions. Agricultural robots equipped with intelligent perception and autonomous decision-making capabilities are essential for mechanizing complex agricultural processes. With rapid advances in artificial intelligence and robotics, innovation and industrial application of agricultural robots are accelerating, making them a new focal point of technological competition in global smart agriculture. The No. 1 Central Document of 2026 calls for integrating AI with agricultural development and expanding application scenarios for agricultural robots. Leveraging China - s strengths in high-end intelligent robotics and focusing on practical agricultural needs, accelerating breakthroughs in core agricultural robot technologies and their industrial applications is of great significance for expanding AI use cases and advancing China - s agricultural modernization strategy.

The China Agricultural Robot Innovation Competition, co-hosted by the Chinese Association for Artificial Intelligence (CAAI) and other organizations, is the first national-level science and technology competition dedicated to agricultural robotics. Aligned with the national strategy for agricultural strength and the goal of technological self-reliance, the competition focuses on cutting-edge industry challenges and practical application problems, promoting research and adoption through competition. Since 2021, it has been held five times, covering the entire agricultural chain including field crops, orchards, protected agriculture, animal husbandry, and agricultural product processing. Nearly 100 projects have received awards, effectively fostering interdisciplinary technical exchange and translating cutting-edge research into industrial applications.

National Research Center of Intelligent Equipment for Agriculture

National Engineering Research Center for Information Technology in Agriculture

Nongxin Technology (Tianjin) Co., Ltd.

Capital Science and Technology Platform, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences

Beijing Academy of Agricultural AI and Robotics

CAAI Technical Committee on Intelligent Agriculture

Click here for more details.