The University of Lincoln has said that it may extend its range of robots for the agricultural industry.

These can carry out a range of functions, including managing crops and controlling weeds.

John Latham, a director at the university, said: “We were doing research into the use of robotics in agri-food well before the EU referendum decision, but any changes to the free movement of labour will add impetus to our research.”

The university also works with a Scandinavian counterpart, the Norwegian University of Life Sciences. It recently took delivery of the latter’s latest Thorvald agricultural robot, which can monitor crops and soils and operates on uneven terrain.