Japan's Nissan Motor Co., one of the world's largest automakers, is testing its new duck robot prototype to help Japanese farmers fight weeds and reduce pesticide use.

Agiamo Robo, which means duck robot, was created by volunteer engineers from a multinational automobile manufacturer.

A 1.5 kg robot equipped with Wi-Fi and GPS is being tested in the rice fields of Yamagata Prefecture in northeastern Japan.

According to Nissan, the robot duck is “sustainable” and “economically feasible.” This development is designed to help farmers reduce the use of pesticides when using ordinary ducks is not possible.

Japanese rice farmers traditionally use ducks as an alternative to using pesticides. A bird picks weeds and preys on pests in rice fields.

The new agro-robot seeks to imitate this. According to information from Nippon.com, it wanders through rice fields and stirs up water with two screws, thereby preventing weeds from growing.

According to analysts, in the near future, the global agricultural robotics industry will become widespread, and by 2027 it will cost more than 12 billion US dollars.