Author: Anthony James

UK-based robotics firm, Moley has created the world’s first robotic kitchen – yours for just under £250,000. Featuring an advanced, fully functional ‘two-handed’ robot, the kitchen has been developed with input from the 2011 BBC MasterChef winner, Tim Anderson. Launched at this week’s GITEX (Gulf Information Technology Exhibition) show in Dubai, the system features a dexterous robot integrated into a luxury kitchen, that prepares freshly cooked meals at the touch of a button. Moley says the kitchen is the product of six years research and development by an international team of 100 engineers, product and luxury interior designers and three…

Radical, new, low-cost technology from Swiss agtech company Bluetector could help solve some of the most serious environmental problems in agriculture and enable farmers to greatly reduce the costs of their livestock manure management. The Lucerne-based company has successfully commissioned its first, compact, container-based Bluebox plant, which can treat up to 60 tons of pig manure per day, converting it into water on a purely biological basis. Each Bluebox plant ensures up to 350,000 gallons (1,300m³) of treated water can be applied to a single hectare. [Image Source: bluetector.com] In limited quantities, manure is a valuable fertiliser. However, there is…

A Cornell University project funded by two separate three-year grants hopes to develop worm-like, soil-swimming robots to sense and record soil properties, water, the soil microbiome and how roots grow. A US$2 million National Science Foundation (NSF) grant led by principal investigator, Taryn Bauerle, an associate professor in the Horticulture Section of the School of Integrative Plant Science (SIPS) in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, will focus on the plants and soil perspective. Meanwhile, a US$750,000 NSF National Robotics Initiative grant to Cornell’s Robert Shepherd, associate professor in the Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering in the…

PhosAgro subsidiary, PhosAgro-Region – Russia’s largest mineral fertiliser distribution network – and Exact Farming have developed a digital system for monitoring the effectiveness of mineral fertilisers. The two companies estimate that the new digital field monitoring system could boost income by up to RUB 500 million (€5.5 million) per harvest per 100,000 hectares of farmed land. The joint project, which was unveiled at the recent Russian Agrarian Forum, enables agricultural producers to control the application of mineral fertilisers and to monitor their effectiveness using remote sensors. The system is currently being piloted in nearly 20 regions of Russia. The automated…

Irish agtech start-up Cainthus has released ALUS Behavior, providing dairy farmers with access to valuable insights on cow behaviour and cow comfort, pivotal to milk production and animal welfare, and ultimately, farm profitability and sustainability. The Dublin-based computer vision and artificial intelligence company has developed state-of-the-art AI to automatically transform visual inputs from cameras into significant insights about feed management and animal behaviour. Having spent the last three years working alongside a farmer advisor group in North America, it has now developed ALUS Behavior, which monitors cows and their activities – such as lying, eating, and drinking – around the…

Zehnder Technologies has pioneered a sustainable range of Textured Vegetable Protein (TVP), in a bid to reshape the US$1.5 trillion meat market; and developed new compostable packaging products set to transform the US$85 billion fast food packaging sector. The UK-based company is already producing and exporting high-quality TVP made from sunflower, while it finalises the commercialisation of its compostable disposable packaging. Meanwhile, it continues to raise capital for the final stages of branding, legal and R&D components, with a full commercial launch planned for mid-2021. Led by Josef Zehnder, former executive of Australia’s Byron Bay Cookie Company, the company is…

IoT leader ORBCOMM Inc has partnered with Ponce, an Argentinian IoT company specialising in agricultural efficiency, to support farmers throughout Latin America with substantial cost savings and improved water preservation enabled by irrigation solutions that utilise satellite IoT technology. Ponce’s solution is powered by ORBCOMM’s reliable, global satellite connectivity and connected to a modem for real-time monitoring and management of irrigation equipment located in remote regions where cellular coverage is unavailable or unreliable. Ponce’s advanced system combines early detection of machine failure with accurate crop irrigation data to help farmers automate manual processes to inspect equipment, detect faulty machinery and…

A new blockchain-powered business network has been launched by BlockApps in collaboration with Bayer. The TraceHarvest Network is set to transform the way agricultural products are managed, setting new standards in sustainability, and driving digital transformation and food system resiliency critical to the future of the agriculture industry. The Ethereum-based network enhances food quality, safety and sustainability by bringing supply chain efficiencies, transparency, compliance and stewardship to agricultural products. Bayer has served as a founding member and active user of the network for live, customer-facing operations over the past two years in regions including the United States and Brazil, with…

Lindsay Corporation, a Nebraska-based global manufacturer and distributor of irrigation and infrastructure equipment and technology, has developed the smart pivot, a new category of mechanised irrigation that moves beyond traditional water application and management to a wide array of crop and machine health capabilities, while also delivering proven water and energy savings. The smart pivot features ‘FieldNET’ advanced agronomics and ‘Zimmatic’ machine health diagnostics – both designed to support healthier crops and more sustainable farming practices while reducing risk and operational downtime, significantly expanding what the traditional pivot is capable of, according to the company. Several of the smart pivot’s features…

The cloud-based DataConnect system that enables the exchange of machinery data between CLAAS, 365FarmNet and John Deere is now commercially available, with further partners to follow soon. Similar to the way ISOBUS enables different brands of equipment to communicate in the paddock, DataConnect is designed to connect multiple manufacturer cloud platforms, so data can be securely and smoothly exchanged between them. It allows users to view all of their mixed-brand fleet information within the single data platform of their choice. Previously, viewing such information required duplicating effort by using each manufacturer’s corresponding but separate platforms or web portals. The structure…