Farmer Jamie Butler is testing a new worker on his farm in England’s Hampshire countryside. Butler hopes the new worker will help the 180-hectare farm produce more wheat and not harm the environment. The laborer does not say a thing while inspecting Butler’s winter wheat crop for other plants and insects. Why all the silence? Because it is a four-wheeled robot named “Tom.” It uses signals from satellites orbiting the Earth, artificial intelligence and communications technology to map the field. Tom’s creator is the Small Robot Company of Portsmouth, England. It is one of several start-up businesses working to change the way crops are produced. Farmers are facing economic pressures because of the need to keep down food prices, a rising world population and climate change. Most robots are still being tested, but they show ways that automated machines can move from manufacturing businesses to farm communities.