Papers
6
Total Citations
106
H-Index
3
About
Olivia Spykman is a leading researcher at the intersection of agricultural technology, societal acceptance, and sustainable farming systems. Her work focuses on the human dimensions of autonomous agriculture, particularly examining how farmers and the public perceive and adopt field crop robots. Spykman’s most cited study, “Farmers’ perspectives on field crop robots – Evidence from Bavaria, Germany” (2021, 72 citations), provides critical insights into small-scale farmer attitudes toward robotic technology in European agriculture—a topic previously underexplored. She has also pioneered research on public acceptance, demonstrating through discrete choice experiments that societal views significantly influence farmer adoption. Her work on the economic, environmental, and social analysis of autonomous mechanical weeding (2025) offers a comprehensive multi-objective assessment of robotic weed control in sugar beet farming. Notably, Spykman challenges conventional assumptions about economies of scale, showing that crop robots could potentially make small-scale agriculture economically viable, while also identifying logistical and environmental obstacles. Her research on regulatory impacts and public perceptions of digitalization provides essential guidance for policymakers and technology developers seeking to align agricultural automation with societal values.
Research Focus
Key Achievements
Top Papers
- 1Farmers’ perspectives on field crop robots – Evidence from Bavaria, Germany72 citations · 2021
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- 385. The impact of regulation on autonomous crop equipment in Europe5 citations · 2021
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