The Robotics Challenge 2019 laid the foundation for the AIL’s strategy of supporting agriculture through the use of fully autonomous systems. And RWA has been distributing the innovative agricultural robots of the French manufacturer Naio Technologies under an exclusive dealer agreement since 2020. A team from the Agro Innovation Lab recently enjoyed its first opportunity to see a new addition to the range in France, a prototype of the world’s first hoeing robot for weed control.
The manufacturer Naio has been involved in the development of autonomous field robots for almost 20 years. The wide range of tools for mechanical weed control in bed-planted crops that are already available for the DINO robot includes a camera-assisted hoe with a shifting frame. In a new development, Naio has now presented a prototype that can also hoe in-row weeds in lettuce crops. This is currently being put through its paces by the manufacturer in the Pays de la Loire region of France and will soon be available to farmers. The Sales Manager for the D-A-CH region Cornelius Donath welcomed the AIL team together with developers from Naio to a field trial near the French city of Angers.
Demonstrated in a lettuce crop, the specially adapted in-row hoeing system recognises individual plants with the help of video image analysis. This allows the position of individual plants to be determined and weeds to be removed mechanically not only between rows, but also between the plants within a row. Agro Innovation Lab CEO Claudia Mittermayr and Innovation Managers Lena Ranneberg and Florian Haller were enthusiastic about the reliability and precision of this newly developed technology. The hoeing tool that was on display was developed for use in planted crops such as leaf lettuce, cabbage or celery. However, the manufacturer Naio also offers tools for efficient weed control in other crops.
Alongside the DINO robot, the TED robot from Naio Technologies was also inspected during the visit. This is a self-propelled tool for wine makers. The AIL was able to see the newly presented second generation of the TED wine making robot at work in a vineyard near the city of Nantes. Amongst other things, the device can be used for mechanical weed control below the vine. Due to its external width of up to 180 cm, tools from a wide range of manufacturers can be attached to TED.
In addition to the two robots seen during the visit, AIL and RWA also operate Naio’s OZ weeding robot in Austria and offer demonstrations of the tool at a range of events. This compact robot is perfectly adapted for use in nurseries and smaller vegetable farms. If you are interested in one of Naio’s autonomous robots, please contact us and we will work with you to find a tailor-made solution for the automation of your labour-intensive hoeing tasks.