A farmer has a plough that is an automated system. The plough is used to dig the ground in a field to prepare it for planting seeds. The plough uses sensors and a microprocessor to maintain a straight line when digging the ground.

Mark scheme

Marking points from the official mark scheme (Oct/Nov 2024). The mark or mark type is shown in brackets.

1. [1] (A system) that can perform actions without human intervention
2. [3] It receives data from the sensor; It analyses the data // It checks if the data is within/out of a range // It sends signals to trigger actions based on the data
3. [2] It stops the farmer having to handle heavy equipment; It frees the farmer up to do other jobs; It doesn't need to take breaks // Can work 24/7; It can perform boring repetitive tasks; Can save money on labour costs; May be more accurate at ploughing/planting; May be more efficient than the farmer at ploughing
4. [4] It could make use of machine learning; It could gather data from ploughing; and use this data to adapt its own process; so that it will make fewer mistakes; such as the dimensions of the field; such as the landscape of the field; such as where obstacles are in the field; to create a map of the field; to develop the most efficient route to take; so, it knows what to avoid in future