Abstract:Agricultural robot is the key intelligent equipment in agriculture, and it is also the key and focus of international agricultural equipment competition. In this paper, we survey and summarize the international and internal development of agricultural robot and find the huge advantage of agricultural robot on improving efficiency and reducing cost. We analyze the characteristics of agricultural robot, including seasonal work of agriculture manufacture, complex agriculture environment, delicate object of operating, and particular user of the robot. Secondly, agricultural robot are classified and summarized according to the difference of the use, i.e. the agricultural robot of working series and the agricultural robot of manipulator series. The first type is mainly used for homework in large farmland, and the other type is mainly used for homework in greenhouse or plant factory. Then the research progress of agricultural robot in different countries is introduced, including Japan, United States Australia, Germany, and other developed countries. In comparison, although we have developed some series of agricultural robot, the research and development of the agricultural robot in our country is still in the start stage. However, as a big agricultural country, research and development of agricultural robot in China has important significance for the long-term agricultural development. Currently, there are two main problems in the promotion and popularization of agricultural robot in China:the manufacturing cost of agricultural robot and the intelligent degree of agricultural robot. With the development of agricultural robot technology, the research should focus on the following two points:the agricultural robot should use opening structure and control system, and how to combine the standardized production research and robot research. In conclusion, agricultural robot can replace much human labor with high efficiency, especially for the tough conditions work, hard physical work and repetitive work. With the development of agricultural production pattern and advanced technology in China, agricultural robot will get more and more widely used in the future.