Iván Hernández Dalas: The next big AI play isn’t apps or humanoids; it’s machines with brains and brawn
Kubota unveiled the integrated, autonomous M5 Narrow diesel specialty tractor at CES 2026. | Credit: Kubota Humanoid robots and AI are chasing a powerful promise: replacing repetitive manufacturing tasks for lower cost, easing caregiver shortages, taking people out of dangerous work, and helping more of us live better, fuller lives in environments built for humans. That’s important, and it’s coming. On rural farms or urban construction sites, the problem looks different. The urgent question isn’t “Can a robot live with us?” It’s “can intelligent machines help us keep producing food and building infrastructure when skilled operators are disappearing and margins are razor‑thin?” That’s where embedding physical AI into heavy equipment comes in—and agriculture , especially permanent crops, is where it’s being pushed the hardest. In a vineyard or orchard, a machine operates inches from high‑value plants with almost no room for error. It threads through trellises and under canopies, aro...