Revolutionizing Agriculture: Showcasing the Latest in Robotics Technology
Discover the Power of I-Catch, Crover for Autonomous Grain Management, and Automated Greenhouse Solutions
The agROBOfood network is created to strengthen the European ecosystem and accelerate the uptake of robotic technologies in the agri-food sector, to make it more efficient and competitive.
The network has already shown its dynamic and unique ability to bring the robotics and agri-food communities together in order to cooperate and find the best solutions for the future of agriculture.
Join the #agrofoodrobotics team from Wageningen University and Research in our upcoming free online showcase of 3 agROBOfood Innovation Experiments to see the network in action!
What is an Innovation Experiment?
An Innovation Experiment (IE) is a method used to
i) Refine technologies so they better meet the needs of end users; and
ii) Demonstrate the benefits of robotics solutions in order to encourage their adoption.
IEs also help to test and enhance network and service quality. These experiments do not involve research, but rather demonstrate the practical application and value of the technology from the perspective of the end user. This includes the use of the technology in real-world scenarios, the ecosystem and business services that support it, as well as custom training in the technology.
What are the IEs demonstrated?
The following 3 Innovation Experiments will be demonstrated:
1. I-Catch: automating the control of Tuta absoluta in tomatoes by PATS
2. The first robot for autonomous management of bulk-stored cereal grains by Crover ltd. & Agri-EPI Centre
3. Automated guided vehicles for greenhouse robotics by Saia Agrobotic
Save the Date!
Thursday 16 February 2023 13:00 to 15:00 CET
Target audience: SMEs, Agri-food Industries, Robotics engineers
How to Participate?
Follow the link to register here
WORLD FIRA 2023
1ST IN-FIELD EVENT FOR AUTONOMOUS FARMING SOLUTIONS
The 7th World FIRA event for agricultural robotics will be held from February 7-9 2023.
The event will feature robots and autonomous solutions for resilient agriculture.
Attendees will include industry leaders, growers, manufacturers, investors, researchers and consultants.
The event will focus on the latest innovations in autonomous solutions and include networking opportunities.
KEY NUMBERS
➢ 1,000 participants
➢ 80 countries represented
➢ 50 exhibitors
➢ 20 robots demos
➢ 2ha of cultivated crops
Save the Date
Tuesday 7-9 February 2023
Target audience: Growers, Industrials, Investors
Reasons to attend: Finding out new and exciting ways to make farming easier and better for the earth.
How to participate?
LEADING EXPERTS DISCUSS THE FUTURE OF FOOD
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and robotics are revolutionising the agriculture and food sector.
Although employee shortages have been prevalent in the food sector for some time, they were aggravated by the pandemic. To combat skill shortages and food security challenges, the sector is turning to AI and robotic solutions.
Join agROBOfood’s free webinar on the Impact of Robotics in Food Processing and learn from leading experts at DTI Denmark, Fraunhofer IVV, and Wageningen University & Research.
Discover the state-of-the-art in food processing robotics, and get to know the importance of hygienic design. And what are the most pressing challenges and future perspectives in the food sector according to you? Share your views in the panel discussion about the future of food robotics.
Save the Date
Tuesday 24 January 2023 13:00 to 15:00
Target audience: Professionals in food technology, food processing, and food production businesses.
How to participate?
Programme
Moderator: Erik Pekkeriet, Wageningen University & Research
Introduction – Erik Pekkeriet, Programme Manager Agro Food Robotics (Wageningen University & Research)
Keynote – State-of-the-art robotics for food processing – Carsten Panch Isaksen, Senior Consultant Robotics, Vision, and AI (Danish Technological Institute)
Keynote – Hygienic design in robotics – Marc Mauermann, Deputy Director Division Processing Technology (Fraunhofer Institute for Process Engineering and Packaging IVV)
Pitches – Robotics in food production, three practical cases
Expert Panel on the challenges and perspectives for robotics in the food sector (DTI, Fraunhofer, agROBOfood, FME, Wageningen University & Research)
Want to learn more?
Head over to the Wageningen University and Research dedicated webpage to read more about this interesting webinar and the challenges that the agrifood sector is facing.
Join the challenge!
Adapt Cascade Competition
Sim2Real object Detection and Pose-Estimation Challenge
The METRICS project is pleased to invite you to join the ADAPT Cascade Competition dedicated to the benchmarking and testing Machine Learning algorithms & solutions for typical industrial challenges.
In this Cascade competition, using simulation data, two main benchmarks will be used to test and evaluate the competitor’s solutions for Object Detection and Classification and Pose-Estimation of typical industrial parts.
The METRICS project
Metrological Evaluation and Testing of Robots in International Competitions
The METRICS project, led by the National Metrology and Testing Laboratory (LNE), will organize robotics competitions in four priority areas identified by the European Commission: health, agri-food, inspection and maintenance of infrastructure and agile production.
Exciting News
Development of the Evaluation Framework
METRICS is designed to organise competitions as reproducible and objective evaluation campaigns and aims to structure the European robotics and Articifial Intelligence (AI) community in a sustainable way.
Bringing together unique European Competences in robotics and systems testing, METRICS intends to build a sustainable European Robotics Community that will adderess a precondition for their adoption; the evaluation of intelligent systems.
Important information: How to participate?
1. Decide the challenge that you want to participate:
a. Object detction and Classification; or
b. Pose-Estimation of typial industrial parts
2. Go to the METRICS project website and follow the steps!
Schedule
The challenge consists of two consecutive phases:
1. Validation Phase: 21 November 2022 -to 22 January 2023 (now open!)
2. Test Phase: 23 January 2023 to 8 February 2023
3. Results announcement: by 13 February 2023
Want to learn more?
Head over to the ADAPT competition dedicated webpage to read more about this competition and its aim to address typical dexterous manipulation tasks (e.g. heap sorting, picking of parts and precision placement) of industrial components involving intuitive, multi-modal interfaces and human communication channels (speech, gestures, gaze, etc.), involved in the assembly process of an industrial mechanical system.
East Med Regional Cluster of the agROBOfood project
Participating Countries: Greece, Turkey, Cyprus, Israel
Agriculture is now,
and it’s always been
the basis of civilization.
WHEN & WHERE?
The International Symposium “Cultivating the AgriFuture, Agricultural UAV” is going to
take place in Izmir, Turkey, on 3-4/11/2022, and it is organized by EGE University and the
Agricultural University of Athens, in the context of agROBOfood H2020 project and the
Regional Cluster of East Mediterranean Europe.
WHY IT’S IMPORTANT?
Given that our past, our present and our future all depend on agriculture, it is important to cultivate the conditions that pave the way for a sustainable agri-food future.
Agriculture impacts society in many ways, including: supporting livelihoods through food, habitat, and jobs; providing raw materials for food and other products; and building strong economies through trade.
How can we make the future of agriculture better?
If we harness the power of technology and use it in combination with the knowledge we have from the previous years we can make progress towards preventing soil erosion and minimising the environmental footprint of agricultural practices.
UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES (UAVs)
One of the most promising technologies revolutionizing agriculture are UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles).
They capture field data (using sensors and cameras), and allow farmers to efficiently apply agricultural inputs such as pesticides and nutrients.
Data driven agriculture helps define spatial and temporal deviation in the field with precision.
Moreover, it facilitates management operations optimization and boosts sustainable production.
An operation that is currently proving to be extremely impactful in favor of sustainable food production and the environment, is UAV spraying.
There are several positive impacts, to name a few: decreasing the volume of water used, minimizing soil compaction caused by field traffic, decreasing yield lost due to tractor and sprayer, avoiding depreciation and fuel consumption of tractor and sprayer, and minimizing personal chemical contact during the operation.
KEEP IN MIND
There are limited places available, so don’t forget to reserve your spot by sending an email to:
Behic Tekin | behic.tekin@ege.edu.tr
Michael Koutsiaras | mgkoutsiaras@aua.gr
As part of the agROBOfood project, BioSense Institute is providing support to the QualiSpot Industrial Challenge experiment, chosen and awarded through an open call.
Background information
The goal of the agROBOfood project is to encourage the effective application of robotic technologies in the agricultural and food sectors. Such an application is QualiSpot; a solution that offers a wide range of components intended for common and intelligent spray robots.
One of agROBOfood’s partners and Digital Innovation Hub is BioSense Institute; a Research and Development Institute for IT in biosystems and a pioneer in digital transformation of agriculture in Serbia.
BioSense explores scientific and technological frontiers regarding the application of IT in agriculture and strives to deliver state-of-the- art digital solutions to the farming sector.
BioSense explores scientific and technological frontiers regarding the application of IT in agriculture and strives to deliver state-of-the- art digital solutions to the farming sector in Serbia and the world, in order to ensure higher yields with smaller investments.
Spot Spraying and the Future of Farming
QualiSpot demonstrates how optimized spraying leads to improved environmental conditions due to significant inherent pesticide savings.
The predecessor project FieldCompanion allowed Ambimetrics, together with its partners, to construct spot spray components at TRL6.
To allow successful market rollout, the spot spray components delivered to machinery manufacturers, have to meet very tight quality standards and be backward compatible with the fleets of machines already deployed across the Globe.
The important thing to point out is that QualiSpot not only strives to develop new technology but also drives quality and market maturity of existing components to generate global market impact. Taking into account design, manufacturing, and service delivery throughout QualiSpot production process, creates a powerful solution that meets the requirements and needs of modern farming.
Fully aligned with the quest for a sustainable future, QualiSpot acknowledges and supports the strategies put forward by the EU’s Green Deal, the Biodiversity and the Farm to Fork Strategy, as well as the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, for a sustainable future where “nobody is left behind”.
Challenges and way forward
In a recent interview provided by Christian Rodriguez (one of QualiSpot team leaders) to BioSense Institute, special mention was made to the problems faced by manufacturers of robotic components in today’s complex landscape.
From a business perspective, the most important issue for Ambimetrics…is our position in the product supply chain: we are on the lower side of it.
We only develop a part of the whole product independently from the sector we work in so we depend on others to put our products on the market… we depend on farmers being interested in the sprayer sold by our direct client. Sprayer prize, marketing and the whole performance are out of our scope.
As regards the reasoning for participating in agROBOfood’s Industrial Challenge, Mr. Rodriguez referred to the need to connect, as a component developer, with downstream machinery manufacturers to bring our custom-made components to international markets.
Therefore, through agROBOfood’s dynamic network, the company can find the tools and connections to reach the global market and succeed in it.
As for the future, the main objective of Qualispot is to assure that existing spot spraying components meet customers’ quality needs, while at the same time maintaining AMBI’s ability to swiftly and cost-efficiently react to new customer/market requirements.
Solutions that solve actual problems
Ambimetrics has been able to change their development processes from top to bottom both in the software area and the hardware. Having introduced the Continuous Integration system within their projects, allows them to detect bugs sooner in the development process.
Moreover, they have also introduced a Test-Driven Design standpoint, creating a great base of tests for all the already developed codes. As for new functionalities for each software release, new codes were added. This resulted in fewer bugs, better quality and greater reliability for the end-users.
On the hardware side, several automated testers and simulators were created for QualiSpot components to ensure analysis of more devices in less time, while avoiding human action.
How to deal with increased demand & maintain high quality?
There are two ways to ensure higher production rate and high quality at the same time.
The first step is to ensure validation of upward supply chain provider elements. The second is to make sure that the manufactured components are free of design/components bugs in a fast, traceable way.
On the field, Qualispot has allowed us to put to test our latest developments. In this area, the most important thing we figured out is the lack of suitable measurement tools for precision agriculture in the sector. Coming from very demanding sectors concerning accuracy, traceability and precision, we are facing a shortage of “good” tools to demonstrate our components (and so the client´s robot sprayers which use them) are capable of being as efficient as we state.
Global impact & Competitive edge
So far, the robotic spot sprayers and the sprayers using QualiSpot components are gaining technical awards in national and international exhibitions concerning innovation (from 2014).
On the field, farmers and researchers are sowing significant benefits thanks to the unique combination of sprayer technology and QualiSpot control systems and other components.
QualiSpot and Agriculture
QualiSpot has given AMBIMETRICS the chance to deepen its knowledge into agriculture services and get the chance to produce market-ready, high-tech devices for agricultural companies and end-users.
Read the full interview here.
A disruptive product that will revolutionize the robotics industry
agROBOfood is very happy to announce that Automationware, a company in the North East Europe Regional Cluster, dedicated to the development of cutting-edge robotic and mechatronic technologies, won the Roberto Maietti award for Advanced Robotics in the edition of SPS 2022 in Parma, for the robot called ‘AW-Combo’.
Proudly presenting: AW Combo
The Prize was awarded for a new product AW Combo, sponsored by the EU community https://agrobofood.eu/experiments/, a 15-axis Mobile Collaborative Cobot with extraordinary maneuvering capacity for production chains and smart factories. This system is decidedly innovative, developed by a team of young AW engineers with the support of Fraunhofer Italia, and has unique collaborative robotic technologies of their kind.
Details about the AW Combo
A robot with agility of movement in the working area has an omnidirectional AMR (8 axes) and a robotic arm with 6 degrees of freedom ‘+ gripper, capable of lifting even very high payloads. The management of the robot is comprehensive and wirelessly controlled, and in the future it can be connected to the 5G network.
Fields of application
Indispensable for addressing production issues in the food and Pharma sector, where a low contaminating impact is required, but also for the management of production lines, avoiding tiring and repetitive loading / unloading work for humans.
Thanks to its characteristics, the robot can also be used in advanced logistics or in e-commerce situations to load or unload packages autonomously, moving around the work area with respect to different points, in full autonomy but with safety technology. (Laser scanner and 3D camera), avoiding impacts with people or things.
A disruptive product that will revolutionize the way robotics are done in modern smart and logistics situations with high turnover. Thanks to its qualities, it can also be adopted in different sectors such as for example that for machine tending, or in the management of the end of the production line, now enslaved by large and potentially dangerous anthropomorphic robots for working with line operators.
About Automationware
Automationware is a company that operates in the province of Venice, has been producing actuators with a high technological impact since 2002.
The company invests mainly in research, in particular in advanced robotics, with the aim of becoming an Italian hub for NextGen robotics and systems integration for robotize production and logistics processes.
AW has been part of the HIND spa group since 2021, a group with a turnover of over 200M euros and over 1000 employees, which operates in various market sectors, mainly in the fashion sector, but which invests in the development of strategic sectors in the supply chains. Italians with strong growth content.
Stay in touch
For any information please contact marketing@automationware.it
Smart Agri Hubs Final Event
26 to 28 September 2022
Lisbon, Portugal
On Tuesday 27 and Wednesday 28 September, the SmartAgriHubs ecosystem will open its doors to the European agricultural and digital innovation community!
Workshops & lectures will be held on the challenges, and opportunities that are present in the digitalisation process of the agrifood sector. Several Horizon 2020 projects will be present and an exhibition will be open for representatives of the industry.
ROBOTICS IN AGRIFOOD WORKSHOP
agROBOfood is very excited to participate with the workshop “Robotics in agrifood” that will be held at the first “Synergy Day” of the SmartAgriHubs Final Event (27/09/22) at 15:15. We hope to see you there and discuss the ways in which we can boost the adoption of robotics in agriculture practices in order to improve the farmer’s working conditions, generate higher yields and improve overall quality.
Details about the workshop
Date: 27 September 2022
Time: 15:15 – 16:00
Presenter: Erik Pekkeriet
Link with more details here
Registration link here
Venue: Lisbon Congress Center
Address: Praca Industrias, Lisbon 1300-307 Portugal
SYNERGY PROJECTS; SmartAgriHubs & agROBOfood
Besides the workshop presented by agROBOfood’s North West regional cluster leader, Erik Pekkeriet, our project will also have the chance to present its achievements and lessons learnt during the first part of the “Pitch for Synergy Projects” taking place on 27/09/22 at 09:30 in the morning (Auditorium).
The Synergy Day will enhance the collaboration across Europe and strenghten the SmartAgriHubs and the agROBOfood ecosystems by fostering cooperation, discussion and exchange of best practices!
This is important because we believe that though communication and knowledge sharing we can expand our ecosystem and help to create a positive and long-lasting change in the European agriculture sector, by integrating robots and drones and other important emerging technologies.
About agROBOfood
agROBOfood is an EU funded project with the aim to build a European ecosystem that works for the effective adoption of robotic technologies in the agri food sector.
The heart of the project is formed by Innovation Experiments, organized and monitored by Digital Innovation Hubs. In 7 Regional Clusters, Initial Innovation Experiments will demonstrate robotics innovations in agrifood, in a manner that ensures replicability.
Digital Innovation Hubs (DIHs) will support companies in digitization by connecting various stakeholders; The world of Robotics and Agriculture, R&D and business and of course the end-users and technology providers.
Important Information
To be able to register for the SmartAgriHubs Final Event, you must be a user of the Innovation Portal.
The SmartgriHubs team will use this powerful tool to centralise the registrations and at a later stage organise matchmaking activities with the participants of the Final Event.
The registration to the Innovation Portal is free.
Registrations will close on 21 September 2022.
Browse through the complete agenda of the SAH Event here
Follow this link and register until 21/09/2022
Dear agROBOfood readers,
Please take a closer look at this upcoming joint workshop organised on 12-13 October 2022 and come join us!
An exciting event jointly organised by CNRS-2RM and agROBOfood’s France-Italy regional cluster is going to take place on Wednesday and Thursday 12-13 October 2022 at the premises of INRAE AgroTechnopôle facilities, in Montoldre, Clermont-Ferrand, 03150, France.
The two networks (agROBOfood & CNRS-2RM) will organise this joint 2-day event that will culminate in a unique workshop held on the second day, i.e. on Thursday 13 October (in English).
The focus of this workshop is twofold:
- To Share knowledge and to demonstrate some of the existing tools and practices relating to the Testing & Performance Validation of mobile field robots and
- To exchange views on the existing and emerging Robotics Capabilities enabled by AI in agri-food domain applications
The workshop is open to the agROBOfood network as well as to the participants of the local event organised by INRAE and CNRS-2RM planned for 12 October. The focus of the later is on the French national approaches for the sharing of experiences, tools and infrastructures that are necessary for experimental field robotics. The presentations of the first-day (12 October) will be mainly in French but the slides presented will be in English. To be noted that Q&A time and discussion that will follow after the presentations will be in English.
Draft program of the first day of the event here.
Draft program of the second day of the event here.
Register using the form here.
Important Information
Participation is free but REGISTRATION is needed before 01/10/2022.
All interested participants can attend both events. Please send your request for registration or any questions you may have to farzam.ranjbaran@cea.fr or frederic.colledani@cea.fr
