An agricultural tech business has joined forces with North East Company of the Year, Tharsus, to develop and make a fleet of farming robots.
Small Robot Company, an agritech start-up for sustainable farming based in Salisbury, has announced it is working on the industrial design and manufacture of its first robot fleet, which will deliver a commercial service for weed mapping.
The firm is planning to service around 2,000 hectares with the new ‘Tom’ robots by January 2021, with customers signed up to use the new robots include Waitrose & Partners and the National Trust, which is looking to expand its use of robots across its farms.
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Early field trials are under way in 20 farms across the 海角视频, including the National Trust Wimpole Estate and Waitrose & Partners Leckford Estate.
The initial fleet of 10 robots will be manufactured by Tharsus, the Blyth-based robots designer and manufacturer, which will have the first of the fleet ready in October 2020.
Tharsus will finesse the ‘Tom’ monitoring robot prototype design for eventual mass production in Blyth, working with Small Robot Company on a rigorous industrial design process.
The firm picked Tharsus, which also manufactures Ocado’s warehouse robots, for its experience in advanced robot manufacture.
The monitoring robots first locate the weeds, after which a weed zapping service is anticipated to be available from autumn 2021. Other benefits from the mapping service include yield predictions and measurement of herbicide efficacy.
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Small Robot Company’s mission is to maximise food production while reducing its cost on the environment.
Using robotics and artificial intelligence, it has created an entirely new model for ecologically harmonious, efficient and profitable farming.
Its farmbots Tom, Dick and Harry will plant, monitor and treat arable crops autonomously, with minimal waste.
John Toal, director of business development at Tharsus, said: “Small Robot Company is an archetype of a radical disruptor.
“They are changing the face of an industry that is experiencing significant economic and environmental challenges – by proposing to do things differently. Significantly so. Our engagement melds together their vision, ambition and inventiveness with our own experience of creating commercially successful products.”
Rob Macklin, the National Trust’s Head of Farming and Soils, said: “Technology needs to play a big part in solving many of the issues we currently face in farming – particularly improving soil health and carbon sequestration, reducing our reliance on fossil fuel power and fertilisers and avoiding the adverse impacts of synthetic chemicals on the environment.
“We have started small robot trials at Wimpole and intend to extend trials to other estates in the near future.”
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Sam Watson Jones, co-founder of Small Robot Company, said: “The global opportunity is huge. This is a fourth agricultural revolution, and British technology is leading the charge.
“We’re currently first to market, so it’s absolutely crucial that we get our commercial delivery right. This is a massive step in scaling up our robots for the mass market.
“Our focus for our robotics business is very much on design and innovation - and service.
“Manufacturing with Tharsus gives us the confidence to deliver robust, resilient and farm-ready products, time and again and in thousands of units. They have the expertise we needed to get our commercialisation right.”