Researchers in the UK have successfully grown the world's first crop of barley using nothing but robot tractors and drones. Hands Free Hectare is an experimental farm run by researchers from Harper Adams University, United Kingdom. Its aim is to sow, grow and harvest crops of spring barley using only unmanned vehicles, automated control systems and open-source technology. The project offers a glimpse of what the future of agriculture may be like. "We have been able to show the public that this is something that isn't too far ahead in the future, and it could be happening now," explains Martin Abell, mechatronics research engineer.