World FIRA: Tortuga AgTech Wins Ag Robot of the Year 2024 Award
The Tortuga AgTech strawberry and table grape harvesting robot is the winner of the Ag Robot of the Year 2024 award, reports Future Farming. The robot is primarily designed for harvesting but can also collect data for forecasts, treat plants with UV-C light and perform trimming.
Geert Hekkert, editor in chief of Future Farming and René Koerhuis, editor specialized in precision agriculture and robotics, announced the winner during the 8th edition of the World FIRA in Toulouse/Auzeville-Tolosane (France) on Thursday 8 February 2024. The Tortuga AgTech harvesting robot was chosen from 12 initial candidates and 5 finalists by an expert jury consisting of Future Farming editors, a university researcher robotics and precision agriculture and farmers from across the world. A prominent new jury member was Anna Haldewang, founder and CEO of the InsightTRAC Rover who won the Ag Robot of the Year award in 2023.
The other four finalists were the Andela Robot Weeder ARW-912, Digital workbench Tipard 1800, Ekobot WEAI and the Tensorfield Agriculture Jetty.
The five finalists were judged by each jury member individually according to these five criteria:
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- Originality/technical breakthrough
- Feasibility/market readiness
- Potential to impact farmer’s life
- Ease of farmer uptake, and
- Sustainability
This is why Tortuga AgTech was chosen
One of the main arguments why the jury chose Tortuga AgTech as the winner is the fact that the harvesting robot addresses one of the most significant challenges faced by agricultural businesses: the shortage of affordable and skilled labor. The jury was also impressed by its ability to harvest multiple types of fruits with a single robotic harvester. This machine transforms what was only a vision a few years ago into a reality. It demonstrates how ag robots are the future, making predictions come to life and inspiring others to explore the possibilities. It’s highly practical, offered on a service contract basis at a cost equivalent to hiring labor.
Its real value lies not in labor savings but in providing a solution to the industry’s labor crisis. Some farmers have ceased crop production due to the lack of harvest staff. Additionally, its versatility shines as it not only harvests and transports crops but also treats them with UV light, trims runners, and logs essential data.
Read more at Future Farming.
https://www.futurefarming.com/
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