While Hyundai’s Boston Dynamics division supplied robot security dogs to the World Cup, Volkswagen is heading in the opposite direction. Instead of updating its lawnmowers to fancy AI robotic ones, it’s using 100 sheep to keep the grass at one of its plants neat and tidy.

 

The unusual workforce has taken over vegetation management at VW’s manufacturing plant in Poznan, Poland, where an 18.3 MW photovoltaic installation stretches beneath more than 31,000 solar panels. On bright sunny days, the solar farm can supply the factory’s entire electricity demand, while covering around a quarter of its annual power consumption.