INESC TEC: The external R&D department for robot developers

Portuguese INESC TEC is a non-profit organisation that wins projects and sells ideas and innovations to companies. During the recent World FIRA ag robotics forum, it referred to itself as the external R&D department of companies. “We develop knowledge and robotic concepts to transfer to companies”, said Filipe Neves Santos from INESC TEC. “We don’t sell any products ourselves.”

Two new concepts: Weta and Modular E

Part of INESC TEC is the Laboratory of Robotics and Internet-of-Things (IoT) for Smart Precision Agriculture and Forestry that was established in 2013. Their mission is to develop robotics, automation and IoT based solutions to improve the levels of smart precision in agriculture and forestry with a primary focus on steep slope vineyards. The laboratory has developed two new robots: Weta and Modular E.

Weta is a very low robotic platform vehicle with four traction wheels powered by lithium batteries capable of storing 12 kW of energy. It is designed to be loaded with special tools and packs for autonomous surveillance, inspection, spraying, pruning (cutting/trimming branches), land clearing and harvesting. Weta can carry loads of up to 400 kg. The wheels don’t turn but thanks to their traction and rotating direction, Weta has a zeroturn radius.

The second robot is called Modular E and also is a robotic platform vehicle. The Modular E has two traction wheels and is connected to an implement (like a two-wheel tractor with an implement). This robot is also electrically driven and powered by lithium batteries with about 5 kW of energy storage. By using different implements, it is intended to be a cost-effective robotic solution for spraying, mowing, pruning and harvesting in steep slope vineyards.

Both the Weta and Modular E vehicle concepts will become available this year. The harvesting solution is planned for 2023 and the pruning solution is to follow in 2025.

_{Text continues below image}

SCORPION project: autonomous precision spraying tool

Together wilth nine other partners from four European countries, INESC TEC is also involved in the so-called SCORPION project. SCORPION’s objective is to develop a safe and autonomous precision spraying tool integrated into a modular unmanned tractor (robotics platform) to increase spraying efficiency while reducing human and animal exposure to pesticides, water usage and labour costs. According to the project members, this robot will be able to perform crop adapted spraying on plant level.

One of the focus areas of the project is to consider GNSS receivers fused with other sensors, to increase the reliability, accuracy and safeness and to enable autonomous ultraviolet light treatments (to eliminate partial need of crop protection chemicals) and to allow high precision spraying in permanent crops such as vineyards. The SCORPION project started on 1 January 2021 and is due to end on 31 December 2023.