i'm meeting kaoru kikuchi, from a start—up supporting farms as the labour force shrinks. hello!ow, so this is a rice field? yes. it's really beautiful... it is. ..and it's a lot hillier than i was expecting. yes. raised dams keep the water in each field but means significant weeding forfarmers, who must patrol the paths to spread fertilisers and deter pests. farmers like hironori saito. for ageing farmers, it's robots to the rescue as this smartphone—controlled mower keeps weeds in check. just press here and then push autopilot. so, you just press that and off it goes? sure. amazing! how does the robot know where to go? first, human has to tell them. and then, a robot can run independently by using sensors. facing many more hazards and tougher terrain than your average lawnmower, data from satellite systems, accelerometers, direction, geomagnetic level and thermal sensors keep the bot on track, so just one pilot can monitor several mowers at a time. so, the central pilot can see the maps here. 0h, ok, i can see where it is in the field right now. this prototype uses petrol but i