“You can put the robot at the first row, you answer a few questions about the length of the row and number of rows in a field, and the rest is fully automated,” said Gaetan Severac of Naio Technologies. “It's not able to change fields by itself, but once it's on the field it can do everything on its own and send you a text message when it's done.” The only requirements are that there have to be at least 50 centimeters between rows for the machine to navigate through them and that the plants have to be at least 10 centimeters in height. But that last requirement will no longer be necessary by the end of this year when a new model is released.
“We're currently implementing a video camera that will be able to detect color and shape,” explained Severac. “In the near future, it will be able to follow any kind of row.” Naio also has a version of their software they've released for research purposes where people can program their own version for use on the robot. Their Mr Meteo sensor can also measure the temperature and humidity inside a greenhouse and send updates via a smartphone.
“We are now looking for international retailers to represent us around the world,” said Severac. “We're also raising funds, so if people are interested, now would be a good time to invest.” 10 robots were sold last year, and Severac explained that small investments, which range from 100 to 500 euros, are also possible thanks to crowd-funding platform, and returns can be expected after about five or seven years."
For more information:
Gaëtan Séverac
Naïo Technologies
gaetan@naio-technologies.com
Homepage: http://naio-technologies.com/home/
Robot Oz web page: http://naio-technologies.com/produit/oz-en/
Crowd-funding web page: https://www.wiseed.com/en/startups/naio-technologies/