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Successful start to the 2026 field season
A new field season has begun, and the SoilRob team has already successfully carried out the first sampling campaigns of the year. We spent several days in the field in Bavaria on the LfL sites, near Göttingen together with the IfZ, and at our two trial sites in Brandenburg.
Back in the field: The second sampling has been completed
The second part of this year’s field season has also been successfully completed. The various methods - including the use of robots for mechanical weed control - have been finished, so we were given the green light to begin sampling
Read more … Back in the field: The second sampling has been completed
Field Campaign Update: LiDAR-Based Soil Surface Roughness Assessment with FarmDroid FD20
As part of our ongoing research into robot–soil interactions, the SoilRob team conducted a field trial on July 1–3, 2026, at ZALF in Müncheberg.
Read more … Field Campaign Update: LiDAR-Based Soil Surface Roughness Assessment with FarmDroid FD20
With Robotics in Tow: Dr. Kathrin Grahmann on a Research Trip Through South America
Autonomous field robots have the potential to transform agriculture - but what impact do they have on our soils? With this question in mind, Dr. Kathrin Grahmann, head of the ZALF early-career research group SoilRob, traveled to Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina in the summer of 2026.
Read more … With Robotics in Tow: Dr. Kathrin Grahmann on a Research Trip Through South America
SoilRob Showcases digi.farming.lab at the Federal Government Open Day
On 21st June, the SoilRob research group had the exciting opportunity to present our interactive serious gaming environment, digi.farming.lab, to the public at the Open Day of the Federal Government.
Read more … SoilRob Showcases digi.farming.lab at the Federal Government Open Day
Autonomous weeding robots and their impact on soil
A new publication by the SoilRob team provides an overview of the current state of research on the impact of field robotics on soil health…
Read more … Autonomous weeding robots and their impact on soil
Technical conference at the Society for Conservation Tillage e.V.
Dr. Kathrin Grahmann at the University of Hohenheim symposium: Autonomous field robots as tools for soil-friendly and diversified agriculture?
Read more … Technical conference at the Society for Conservation Tillage e.V.
New publication on the automated evaluation of Von Törne bait strips – an important milestone for the SoilRob team
Dr. Adrija Roy published a peer-reviewed paper in the journal Ecological Indicators in which she automated the evaluation of Von Törne bait strips (Bait-Lamina sticks), thereby facilitating the work of the SoilRob team
Dr. Kathrin Grahmann showcases agricultural innovation at the Global Summit of Women 2025 in Berlin
Representing ZALF and its Junior Research Group SoilRob at the Global Summit of Women 2025 in Berlin, Dr. Kathrin Grahmann highlights how innovative technologies and nature-based approaches can strengthen agricultural resilience to climate change.
BILL GATES
"We should discuss soil as much
as we talk about coal"
LEONARDO DA VINCI
"We know more about the movement of celestial bodies than about the soil underfoot."
Franklin D. Roosevelt
"The nation that destroys its soil destroys itself."
Charles E. Kellogg
"Essentially, all life depends upon the soil"
Mahatma Gandhi
"To forget how to dig the earth and to tend the soil is to forget ourselves."
William Bryant Logan