AGRIMATE

AgRimate is a European project under the Horizon Europe programme aimed at boosting and automating some of the agricultural processes.

The consortium of partners gathered in this project work, from our different areas of expertise, to improve the working conditions in agriculture and the knowledge transfer capabilities of smallholder farmers with the use of Augmented Reality (AR), Artificial Intelligence (AI) and robotic solutions.

AgRimate meets the challenges of pruning high-value crops, such as olive groves and vineyards. AR tools will be used to assist farmers during pruning, using interactive devices that provide information to improve the quality of the work. AI models will be developed that are able to learn from experienced farmers and analyse both agronomic data and data on the health status of workers to support strategic decision-making and improve crop management. Finally, robotic tools, such as exoskeletons and autonomous robotic platforms, will be integrated to improve pruning accuracy and efficiency while reducing physical fatigue. 

By integrating these advanced technologies, AgRimate aims to optimize the efficiency and safety of pruning practices.

It will also address the problem of physical fatigue often associated with manual pruning with the aim of proposing technological alternatives that provide a solution, providing a more desirable, inclusive and accessible working environment for farmers.

Robotnik will contribute by providing a robust autonomous mobile manipulator capable of operating in outdoor environments and performing vineyard pruning. The autonomous platform includes two robotic arms and custom grippers to carry out the coordinated task of grasping and cutting branches. The robot will be equipped with a GPS-RTK module and LIDAR sensor to perform autonomous navigation in outdoor irregular vineyard terrain. Finally the robot will be equipped with RGB-D sensors to perform perception and digitalization of the environment to feed the AI models with 3D plant data.

Additionally, Robotnik will coordinate WP3 which deals with the robotic platform’s development.