In the development of digital agriculture, agricultural robots play a unique role and confer numerous advantages in farming production. From the invention of the first industrial robots in the 1950s, robots have begun to capture the attention of both research and industry. Thanks to the recent advancements in computer science, sensing, and control approaches, agricultural robots have experienced a rapid evolution, relying on various cutting-edge technologies for different application scenarios. Indeed, significant refinements have been achieved by integrating perception, decision-making, control, and execution techniques. However, most agricultural robots continue to require intelligence solutions, limiting them to small-scale applications without quantity production because of their lack of integration with artificial intelligence. Therefore, to help researchers and engineers grasp the prevalent research status of agricultural robots, in this review we refer to more than 100 pieces of literature according to the category of agricultural robots under discussion. In this context, we bring together diverse agricultural robot research statuses and applications and discuss the benefits and challenges involved in further applications. Finally, directional indications are put forward with respect to the research trends relating to agricultural robots.

<abstract><p>Intelligent manufacturing (IM), sometimes referred to as smart manufacturing (SM), is the use of real-time data analysis, machine learning, and artificial intelligence (AI) in the production process to achieve the aforementioned efficiencies. Human-machine interaction technology has recently been a hot issue in smart manufacturing. The unique interactivity of virtual reality (VR) innovations makes it possible to create a virtual world and allow users to communicate with that environment, providing users with an interface to be immersed in the digital world of the smart factory. And virtual reality technology aims to stimulate the imagination and creativity of creators to the maximum extent possible for reconstructing the natural world in a virtual environment, generating new emotions, and transcending time and space in the familiar and unfamiliar virtual world. Recent years have seen a great leap in the development of intelligent manufacturing and virtual reality technologies, yet little research has been done to combine the two popular trends. To fill this gap, this paper specifically employs Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis (PRISMA) guidelines to conduct a systematic review of the applications of virtual reality in smart manufacturing. Moreover, the practical challenges and the possible future direction will also be covered.</p></abstract>