Are you an SME building a robot for the agri-food sector? Are you looking for funding?
Then you should join agROBOfood’s pitching event on the 29th and 30th of March!
The background
agROBOfood, recognizing the importance of robotic technologies, aims to build a pan European ecosystem that will further foster their adoption by the agri-food sector. To ensure that goal, agROBOfood implemented during 2019-2020-2021 the mechanism of Open Calls, through which financial support of 7.5 million euros was provided to around 70 SMEs. Taking into consideration the momentum gained through the Open Calls, agROBOfood furthered its’ efforts and started organizing matchmaking events to connect various initiatives with public and private investors!
Pitch Your Robot
The first edition of Pitch Your Robot was organized in 2021, connecting 25 startups with 50 investors. The second edition took place on April 7, 2022 as a parallel online event during the agROBOfood project event “From Vision to Action: Robotics Innovations in Agri-Food”.
agROBOfood is now organising the 3rd online event “Pitch your Robot”. Small and medium-sized enterprises, Startups and Scale-ups that have already developed a robotic solution will have the opportunity to present their technology and secure funding to advance their project during an online event scheduled for March 29th and 30th, 2023.
Besides getting the chance to Pitch Your Robot in front of a highly experienced judging panel and gain exposure, another reason to apply is the prizes! The previous two editions of “Pitch Your Robot” awarded not only financial prizes, but also admission to educational programs (e.g. the Computer Vision Summer School in Wageningen) and an Evaluation of Robotic Solution by Wageningen’s Senior tech panel.
This year’s event is bigger and more exciting than anything that came before it! With a whopping prize pool of €200,000, distributed among 5 winners, this is an event you cannot miss. Prizes are distributed in the following order:
1st place wins 75k
2nd place wins 50k
3rd place wins 40k
4th place wins 20k and
5th place wins 15K
Are you a visionary in the field of Agricultural Robotics?
Then don’t miss this opportunity to showcase your innovative robot technology and secure funding from top investors.
Register now and take the first step towards revolutionizing the way we grow our food!
How to participate?
- Follow the link to register
- Once you have registered, you’ll receive a Manual with all the information you need to know about how to submit your pitch.
WORLD FIRA 2023
AUTONOMOUS FARMING SOLUTIONS
The 7th World FIRA event for agricultural robotics took place on 7-9 February, 2023.
The event featured robots and autonomous solutions for resilient agriculture. The event focused on the latest innovations in autonomous solutions and included numerous networking opportunities.Attendees included industry leaders, growers, manufacturers, investors, researchers and consultants.
LOOKING TO THE FUTURE
It was an honor for agROBOfood to participate in the World FIRA event. This event provides a platform for companies and organizations to showcase their innovative technologies and advancements in the field of robotics. The opportunity to meet and network with participants, exhibitors, and leading experts in the industry is invaluable.
Attending events like World FIRA allows agROBOfood to stay at the forefront of new developments and advancements in the field, and to share its own expertise and innovations with others. By participating in these events, agROBOfood is able to contribute to the growth and development of the robotics industry and foster collaborations with other organizations and companies. Furthermore, it provides the opportunity to learn about new technologies, establish partnerships, and explore new business opportunities!
Stay tuned for more news and events of our network!
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
