> I have decided that the hardest parts of most projects are the
> packaging and mechanical considerations

My guess is that if I'm going to get more kids interested in electronics
then I'll have to offer some engineering support for them to actually
make something

> Mectronics & robotics are coming on strong. I wonder if the kids
> are really learning anything plugging Arduino boards together...

Probably nothing lasting, unless you can show them what else can be
done with them

> Hopefully the next project will be remote controlling the tractor....
> The steering is fully hydraulic.

You might be interested in this then

Note that this is a repository of free-to-air broadcasts and is
endorsed by the BBC. You'll need to sign in. I've been a member
for years and found the content of the site just terrific (could I
suggest The Unbelievable Truth, Heresy, and Charm Offensive
for just brilliant, fast, witty, and funny panel shows. Got most TV
beat hands down, and not even mentioned the books, plays and
documentaries)

http://radioarchive.cc/torrents-details.php?id=3D16728

Costing the Earth - Robot Farmers

Satellite technology and advances in robotics are set to revolutionise the
future of farming.

Out go the heavy, soil destroying combines and tractors, in come a light
army of mini robots which weed, spray and pick crops at the optimum time.
Expert agronomists will advise thousands of farmers at a time. Using real
data, farmers will be able to maximise the yield and quality of the crops a=
s
they leave the field.

Sarah Cruddas meets the scientists engineering the robotic shepherds of the
future, and hops into the cab of a self-driving tractor to experience labou=
r
and fuel saving precision farming.

She also hears from Science Minister, David Willetts who believes that the
UK can become Europe's centre of satellite technology. The data provided
will, in the coming years, become more and more detailed enabling farmers t=
o
have a greater understanding of their land and allow them to produce yield
maps and farm more efficiently than ever before.

Costing The Earth ask if farms of the future will be run by a fleet of
robots: from crop-picking automatons to swarms of electronic bees, and
whether the farmer of the future be found in a control centre rather than
out in a muddy field.

--=20
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