World FIRA 2023: 2000 participants gathered around dozens of innovative ag robots in the field for the world's leading industry event
Participants from all over the world flocked to the 7th renewed edition of World FIRA, 7 to 9 February near by Toulouse, south of France. Together with more than 2000 participants from 75 countries, professionals from the industry, farmers, education and research came to discover the latest innovations in agricultural robotics: a display of no less than 30 robots presented, 20 of which were demonstrated in field and about thirty innovative technologies. And the sun was on display too!
Robot in-field demos on 5 cultivated plots
Organized jointly by the GOFAR association, FR CUMA Occitanie and the Cité des Sciences Vertes, the robot demos were a great success, and showed the participants' interest in a renewed World FIRA.
For two full days, based on 10 thematic time slots, robots and autonomous solutions were constantly on the move demonstrating their skills in the fields, whether on vegetables, vines, field crops or arboriculture. The range of functionalities presented at the World FIRA, from mechanical or laser weeding to plant analysis, row or inter-row tillage, seeding or spraying, surprised even the most skeptical.
World FIRA exclusives: launch of new robots and adapted technologies
Many robots were presented at World FIRA: more than thirty altogether, including twenty or so in the field - the choice was wide for those afficionados of innovative solutions for an agriculture in full transition.
Among them, some manufacturers chose World FIRA to introduce their new machines and autonomous solutions in exclusivity:
Naïo Technologies (France): first public demo for its crawler Jo, a robot that takes tillage tools into narrow, sloping vineyards. Pixelfarming (Netherlands): exclusive presentation of Robot One, equipped with 10 independent arms and able to carry several tools. PEK Automotive (Slovenia): demonstration of Slopehelper, a robot that performs all the tasks of the annual cycle in vineyards and orchards (except for harvesting). EXXACT Robotics (France) unveiled a whole new concept with TRAXX Concept H2, the first autonomous hydrogen-powered straddle tractor for vineyards in the world. Nanovel (Israel): presentation of its intelligent autonomous fruit harvester, respectful of the principles of sustainable agriculture, and cost-effective. SICK (United States / France): presentation of solutions from its entire range of automation sensors for ag machinery. SMC (Japan / France): demonstration of their intelligent fruit-picking arm, the "right arm" of the farmer.
Invest’Day, a day dedicated to investors in the ag robotics market
World FIRA is the "CES of agricultural robotics" and its mission is to facilitate the development of agricultural robotics start-ups. The Invest'Day was an opportunity for some thirty investors to gain access to the latest agricultural robotics nuggets through a private breakfast and a closed-door pitches session.
Bluewhite and InsightTRAC, the two big winners of the World FIRA awards
Invest'Day also gave rise to the "FIRA Start-up Award" on February 8, where the Israeli start-up Bluewhite was rewarded particularly for the level of autonomy of its tractor guidance system, its ability to support multiple crops, and its experienced and market-ready team. Special mention was given to British start-up The Small Robot Company for its autonomous precision farming solution, based on plant recognition to limit the use of herbicides and fertilizers.
The next day, Future Farming magazine announced the "Ag Robot of the Year 2023", awarding the InsightTRAC Rover, an autonomous rover that removes worm-infested walnuts in almond orchards.
The scientific community gathered around the 4th RobAgri and INRAe Workshop
"Accessible robotic technologies for the agricultural transition" was the theme of the Scientific Workshop organized by INRAe and RobAgri on Tuesday, February 7, 2023. About ten research projects were presented, among which projects on the following topics:
From high-tech to low-cost " Low-cost efficient agricultural robotics solutions” Human-robot interaction Safety and integrity of robots in agriculture Integration of robots in farms "Feedback on the use and the evaluation of robots in real conditions”
The last round table of the day brought together leading researchers from the laboratories and universities that are the most involved in agricultural robotics in the world: Wageningen University & Research, University of California ANR, the CEMA, Dassault Système and the Polytechnic Institute UniLaSalle.
Unique meetings between the world of research and industry facilitate each year the research-industry partnership and technology transfer.
