These are the 5 finalists for the Ag Robot of the Year 2024
For the second year in a row, Future Farming and World FIRA are awarding the Ag Robot of the Year, the most promising newcomer to the Future Farming robot catalogue. And these are the 5 finalists!
Five field and harvest robots capable of automating one or more operations in outdoor grown crops have made it to the finals of the second global Ag Robot of the Year award election. The five finalists were selected by the Future Farming editorial team and a researcher robotics and precision agriculture from Wageningen University & Research (WUR) after a thorough evaluation of the 12 candidates. These 12 candidates, field and harvest robots that were added to Future Farming’s buyers’ guide between February 2023 and January 2024, automatically qualified for the Ag Robot of the Year 2024 award.
These are the five finalists in alphabetical order:
Andela Robot Weeder ARW-912
The ARW-912 is a fully robotised weeding machine with 12 weeding units and a working width of 9 metres suitable for crops in row culture. Each unit has a camera that detects the weeds and controls the linked robot arm, which kills the weeds with a probe while the soil remains undisturbed. The image recognition system is able to detect and kill weeds from a very early stage. The machine runs on solar panels, is electrically powered and runs, RTK-gps controlled, on tracks. The ARW-912 can be used 24/7 and has a log function (all images, including GPS coordinates).
Digital workbench Tipard 1800
Tipard 1800 is an autonomous multi-carrier platform for the automation of entire process chains, partially in arable farming and fully in special crop cultivation such as drilling, fertilising, weed and pest control and harvesting. The main frame has seven modular sub-frame spaces that can be equipped with various diesel engines up to 40 kW of power, auxiliary fuel tanks, battery modules with up to 56 kWh battery capacity, a three-point hitch or various sensor units. There are five implement mounting options.
Ekobot WEAI
WEAI works with high precision which is especially important in rows of vegetables. Our robot has mechanical arms to remove weed between rows and a hoeing system to remove weed in the rows. In this way you also reduce the use of herbicides so the farmers can reduce their costs and contribute to a healthier environment. Tests in Sweden showed that our robotic system can contribute to higher yields compared to conventional cultivation using herbicides. The robot uses RTK-gps to navigate with 2 cm precision. Sensor fusion is also made with odometry and an IMU to get an accurate localisation.
Tensorfield Agriculture Jetty
Jetty performs herbicide-free precision thermal weeding in high density row crops such as carrots and spring mix. It identifies weeds among crops, using computer vision. It then sprays a micro-dose of organic-approved high temperature vegetable oil onto the weeds with sub-cm precision to kill the weeds and allow crops to flourish. According to Tensorfield, Jetty delivers the fastest, most cost-effective method of getting a precise lethal dose of heat energy into a weed, to kill the weed in a targeted fashion among post-emergent crop foliage.
Tortuga AgTech F and G
Tortuga’s platform combines AI, purpose-driven design and on-the-ground operations. The robot is primarily designed for harvesting but can also collect data for forecasts, treat plants with UV-C light and perform trimming. The robots have an autonomous base that navigates up and down the row and two arms that identify, move and pick fruit. The robot’s AI uses nearly twenty “models” to make picking decisions, relies on advanced software for two-arm picking and navigates in the row precisely.
Meet the jury
The five finalists will be judged by the Future Farming and WUR experts.
Chuck Baresich is the general manager of Haggerty Creek, the Ontario agribusiness and robotic equipment dealer and a driving force behind a local robotics research project.
Ian Beecher-Jones has been involved with precision agriculture for the last 20 years, providing consultancy services for multi-national manufacturers around the world. Ian is also a co-owner of JoJo’s Vineyard a 2,2 ha vineyard in South Oxfordshire.
Anna Haldewang, the creator of the InsightTRAC Rover, winner of the 2023 Ag Robot of the Year, has introduced a groundbreaking solution to almond orchard management. Her robot effectively eliminates Navel Orange worm-infested ‘mummies’ from almond trees, safeguarding crop quality and yield.
Georg Honsel, a dedicated farmer and co-owner of Honsel Agrar and Einfach Bio. Alongside his wife Verena and Christian Overkämping, Georg manages these two distinct farms in Rhede, Germany. Georg has invaluable experience in both conventional and organic farming, coupled with automation and robotics to combat weeds.
Laurent de Buyer current position is AXEMA Générale Manager since June 2022. Laurent has always worked in agricultural engineering from the start of his career. He has worked as a general manager at French manufacturers such as Gregoire (tillage implements), Lucas G (feed mixers), Tecnoma EXEL Group (sprayers) and Manip M-Extend Group (loaders).
Steve Pitstick farms with his son. They grow corn and soybeans on about 5000 acres in IL near Chicago. Steve is also the current Chairman of the IL Soybean Association. He has consulted on many agtech matters over the last 10 years and has a close friendship with an individual that is in the autonomous startup space.
Frederico Logemann is head of innovation & strategy at SLC since 2006. SLC is a farm in Brazil for research, development, and education. Frederico was responsible for establishing the company´s innovation department. Frederico is also a member of the Board at Instituto Caldeira, an innovation hub for Rio Grande do Sul state.
Michael Nichols runs a mixed farming business in sisters creek, Tasmania. They grow a variety of crops like potatoes, onions, poppies, pyrethrum, wheat, barley, mustard and corn. Additionally, they run a few beef cattle on the side. In 2021 his farm won the national Australian government innovation in agriculture land management award.
Bram Veldhuisen is a researcher in precision agriculture and robotics at Wageningen University & Research (WUR). Besides that, he is closely involved with Farm of the Future, a Dutch initiative in which WUR and Dutch farmers of the future are working together on feasible solutions to the challenges faced by agriculture in the Netherlands.
Maxence Guillaumot comes from a French arable farming family. After starting his career in the development of agricultural tractors, he joined an agricultural robotic company, as a robotics advisor. Now, he helps AgTech companies and growers to build the agriculture of tomorrow, as a product and market analyst. He also writes and films about robots for Future Farming.
René Koerhuis graduated from Wageningen University & Research in 1998. He started out his career as a ‘Precision Farming Specialist’ at a well-known machine manufacturer. Following that, he fulfilled several product management and marketing roles. He currently is an editor for several titles and websites and specialises in precision agriculture and robotics.
Mick Roberts is an agricultural journalist specialising in spray application technology, drones and precision farming. He edits Pro Operator magazine as well as www.eioperator.com a spraying information and training website.
Geert Hekkert has been editor-in-chief of Future Farming since 2019. Before that, he was editor-in-chief of Boerderij, the largest independent magazine for farmers in the Netherlands. He also founded the National Fieldlab for Precision Farming (NPPL) project in 2017. In this project, farmers work with researchers at Wageningen University to test new technology in practice.
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