Discovery & concept development
Better crop care, built from real needs.
We’re developing the foundations of a modular agricultural robot—starting with growers’ experience, a small mobile platform, and a carefully defined task.
- Project
- Modular agricultural robotics
- Application under study
- Greenhouse crop care
- Near-term goal
- A testable, limited-scope prototype
A useful robot starts with a good question.
Crop care combines repetitive work with delicate decisions. A useful robot has to fit the crop, the growing space, and the people working around it.
One candidate task is tomato leaf removal, with targeted wound protection when appropriate. We’re evaluating this direction alongside the practical requirements of the mobile platform. The final task will be shaped by grower input and early testing.
What actually takes time?
Understand recurring tasks, current tools, and the labour involved in completing an entire growing row.
What does a good result look like?
Define acceptable crop handling, cutting quality, and when a task needs human judgement.
What fits the farm?
Measure working heights, aisle access, rails, and the routines the robot would need to work within.
A focused path to a first prototype.
A four-month development goal, organised around learning milestones. Timing depends on access, resources, and test results.
stage 1/4 discover
01 Discover
Listen & define
Visit farms, record the current workflow, and choose a bounded task with a clear baseline.
Current focus
02 Design
Build & bench-test
Develop the platform and task module. Measure positioning, repeatability, and tool behaviour.
Planned
03 Integrate
Connect the system
Bring sensing, controls, and hardware together in a limited, repeatable test environment.
Planned
04 Evaluate
Test & learn
Compare supervised robot operation with the existing workflow and document what still needs work.
Planned
One system. Four connected disciplines.
A modular architecture lets us test each part, learn from it, and bring the pieces together.
- MechanicalMobile platformA compact base designed around the terrain, crop access, and stability required by the chosen task.
- HardwarePower & interfacesMotor control, power distribution, sensor connections, and dependable low-level operation.
- PerceptionVisual understandingCamera-based observation and target localisation, tested against real lighting and occlusion.
- ControlMovement & task controlPositioning, controlled motion, and coordination between the platform and a task-specific tool.
Research direction, not a product claim.
Autonomy, task completion, labour savings, and crop benefits will need to be measured. Any wound-treatment function depends on an appropriate agronomic protocol.
Our classroom extends to the field.
Our October 23 visit to Hoffman’s Strawberries was an opportunity to ask questions and learn about the work behind food production. These conversations help us approach engineering with a better understanding of real needs.
Read the visit recap ↗Progress you can put to the test.
A successful demonstration is a starting point. We want to understand how the system performs across repeated tasks, how often it needs help, and whether it improves the overall workflow.
- Task completion
- Time per target
- Human intervention
- Crop handling quality
- Maintenance time
- Net labour input
Have a challenge we should understand?
We’d love to hear from growers, engineers, and mentors who can help turn a promising idea into a useful first build.