Our Innovation Analysts recently looked into emerging technologies and up-and-coming startups working on solutions for the agriculture industry. As there is a large number of startups working on a wide variety of solutions, we decided to share our insights with you. This time, we are taking a look at 5 promising robotics startups impacting the agriculture industry.
Heat Map: 5 Top Robotics Startups Impacting The Agriculture Industry
For our 5 top picks, we used a data-driven startup scouting approach to identify the most relevant solutions globally. The Global Startup Heat Map below highlights 5 interesting examples out of 167 relevant solutions. Depending on your specific needs, your top picks might look entirely different.
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SKT Areoshutter – Surveying & Mapping
One farmland can have multiple soil and land characteristics, making it suitable for growing different crops based on their needs and resistance. However, it is currently an expensive and time-consuming process to identify these characteristics. Innovations in autonomous drone technologies have greatly simplified the process of farm surveys and mapping. Ghanaian startup SKT Aeroshutter develops drones for agricultural surveying and mapping. They also offer complementary services like yield estimation, input application, and crop health assessments. They intend to save time, energy, and resources for African farmers.
Skyx – Precision Aerial Spraying
Weed growth and pest control are always on the mind of farmers. Without proper maintenance of crops, yields will drop and so will incomes. Farmers have been spraying pesticide and weed killers for a long time now, however, new drone technologies allow them to automate the spraying process. Not only is drone-based spraying more efficient, but it also ensures that farmers are not exposed to harmful chemicals. Israeli startup Skyx develops autonomous drones for agricultural spraying. Their drones can spray pesticides uniformly throughout the farm or change the rate of pesticide application based on ‘hotspots’ of pest activity. In addition, they allow farmers to have a real-time understanding of the weed or pest situation in their farms.
Small Robot Company – Compact Robots
Apart from the US and Australia, most other countries find their farmlands to be small and difficult for bulky robots to work on – forcing them to continue to employ human labor or accept delays for harvest. Advancements in robotics have allowed companies to develop smaller, more practical robots that can access regions in the farm previously only capable by humans. British startup The Small Robot Company develop Tom, Dick, and Harry – three small robots to help farmers automate certain tasks. Tom is a small robot that continuously monitors the soil and crops. Dick is in charge of precision feeding and weeding crops. Harry is responsible for precision drilling and planting seeds. These three small robots, along with their analytics management software, Wilma, aim to help automate several functions for a farmer.
SwarmFarm – Large Robots
Large robots, however, are preferred by the big agricultural companies as they are capable of completing farming tasks much faster and with greater effectiveness. Big farmlands currently require more human labor and equipment for them to work with. This cost can be amplified during poor yields or by extreme weather events. Capable of automating several time-consuming tasks, large robots will dramatically improve agricultural practices. Australian startup SwarmFarm develops SwarmBot, a big robot capable of working on large turf farms as well as in orchards. Their robot can conduct large-scale crop protection by targeting weeds, thereby reducing the quantity of herbicides used on crops. The SwarmBot is used primarily for mowing and slashing land – preparing the soil for the next round of seeding.
Asimo Multitech – Robotics Platform
Across the world, many farming families watch their labor shift from farming to more commercial jobs. The shortage of workers for farming, along with a declining knowledge base in agriculture as a whole, has given rise to several companies who are designing and building robotic platforms for the farmer. These include hardware improvements, software and the integration of the two. Indian startup Asimo Multitech develops a 6D Agribot Autonomous System – compact robots capable of performing several different farming tasks such as field mapping, Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based soil testing, crop suggestions, nutrition assessments, crop spraying, crop seeding, and crop harvesting. Farmers can customize their robots based on their individual requirements.
What About The Other 162 Solutions?
While we believe data is key to creating insights it can be easy to be overwhelmed by it. Our ambition is to create a comprehensive overview and provide actionable innovation intelligence for your Proof of Concept (PoC), partnership, or investment targets. The 5 startups showcased above are promising examples out of 167 we analyzed for this article. To identify the most relevant solutions based on your specific criteria and collaboration strategy, get in touch.
