About the event

An incredible gathering was concluded last week in Athens! agROBOfood held a successful network event on the 11th and 12th of May, thanks to each and every participant!

Knowledge sharing, networking and dynamic discussions were the key facets of this year's event. From the insightful keynote speeches to the dynamic panel discussions, participants not only stayed tuned, but also came forward with their questions, making along with the speakers all the difference!

The event started with a welcome from the coordinator of agROBOfood project Dr. Kees Lokhorst, who explained what the ecosystem is and how it came together in the last few years.

Bringing forward the ecosystem

The agROBOfood community was the topic underlying all sessions throughout the two days. A partnership of few in the beginning that steadily grew to count more than two hundred members, as presented in “agROBOfood in a nutshell” by Jens Martinus Pedersen, Coordinator of Innovation Experiments, agROBOfood.

From established companies, SMEs and start-ups to policy makers and end users, different stakeholders of the ecosystem were there to share their knowledge and experience.

Each provided useful insights showcasing on one hand the challenges that a niche market like that of agri-food robotics has to face and on the other how a strong community, led and supported by experts, can address those challenges.

Success stories: Innovating into the robotic agri-food domain

Companies, SMEs and start-ups shared their success and how they reached the point they are in today; what were (and still are) their struggles; the innovation their technology can bring into the sector and how they can revolutionize it.

Presentations by

Eva Schröer-Merker, Krone

Thilo Steckel, Claas

Dr. Sebastian Pütz, Nature Robots GmbH

Nikos Frangakis, iKnowHow SA

Nikos Mylonas, CEO & Co-Founder, EDEN

Is robotics the right tool? Thoughts from farmers of the Future

Agri-cooperatives and farmers representatives of today and of the “future” discussed their views on the impact robotics can have on the work done in the field. They also focused on how adoption could be boosted in the near future using tools like training to help end users.

Presentations by

Patrick Pagani, Copa Cogeca

Markos Legas, Pegasus Agrifood Cooperation

Doris Letina, CEJA

Providing the EU framework: Policy to support agriculture robotics guidelines & funding opportunities

Another important piece that was added during the two-day discussions was that of the policy framework and the way it affects the future of robotics, along with the financial (and other) tools that the EU can provide to further boost the evolvement of the domain.

Presentations by

Ivan Stefanic, European Innovation Council

Peter Broertjes, DG Grow

Mapping innovations across the EU

AgROBOfood, as a part of a whole, brought to the forefront innovations that are being cultivated in other projects with collaborations across the EU including SoftGrip, CoROSect, FlexiRobots, SmartDroplets and Rob4Crops that co-organized this session.

Presentations by

Dr. Frits van Evert, Co-ordinator of Robs4Crops

Dr. Spyros Fountas, Coordinator of Smart Droplets

Konstantinos Stavridis, Work package leader in CoRoSect

Konstantinos Vasios, Innovation Lead in SoftGrip

Francisco Javier Nieto de Santos, Coordinator of FlexiGroBots

Creating the legacy

This year's event signaled the passing of agROBOfood to a new era. Bringing together Digital Innovation Hubs, SMEs, Policy makers and farmers to work towards a shared vision was just the steppingstone. agROBOfood has created a vibrant community that sets the foundation for the agri-food robotics field.

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