Experience report 05/18/2021
Tereos press release: success for Ecorobotix's latest innovation which has just completed a series of trials with its weeding robot on the Tereos Polyculture farm in Chevrières (Oise).
New trials have just tested the third generation of Ecorobotix' robotic weeder: the ARA. Their mission was to improve the performance of this new robotic system as part of the work carried out on beet cultivation by the Tereos agronomy department. For the cooperative, the final objective is to enable its cooperators to benefit from the latest technologies contributing to the improvement of sustainable cultivation practices and the reduction of production costs.
Developed thanks to exchanges between experts from Tereos and Ecorobotix, a Swiss manufacturer, the ARA is a completely autonomous machine equipped with a 6-metre wide, folding boom that is attached to a tractor. Its three very high definition cameras detect weeds thanks to a recognition algorithm that is perfected with each use.
The nozzles, positioned every 4 cm, ensure high precision spraying and a reduction in the use of weedkillers of up to 95%.
With the new traction system, the SCBA moves at a speed of about 5 km/h. It can weed up to 30 ha/day. Its use has become very intuitive thanks to the development of a touch-sensitive tablet that can be used from the tractor cab, which will facilitate the future marketing of this system.
During the ARA trials, Jérôme Hary, member of the Supervisory Board and Chairman of the Tereos Sugar beet Commission, said:
TEREOS / ECOROBOTIX PARTNERSHIP: INNOVATION FOR SUSTAINABLY PERFORMING FARMING (Audio in French)<br>About Tereos
With a long-term vision of adding value to agricultural raw materials and developing quality products for the food, health and renewable energy sectors, Tereos is a leader in the sugar, alcohol and starch markets. The Group's social and environmental commitments contribute to the company's long-term performance while strengthening its contribution as a responsible player. Tereos is a cooperative group with 12,000 members and recognised expertise in the processing of sugar beet, cane, alfalfa, cereals and potatoes. Thanks to its 48 industrial sites, a presence in 18 countries and the commitment of its 22,300 employees, Tereos supports its customers as closely as possible to their markets with a wide and complementary range of products. In 2019-20, the Group generated sales of €4.5 billion.
Télécharger le Communiqué de presse officiel de Tereos : link
Noud van Gog, a farmer and contractor based in Liessel, Netherlands, manages a substantial area of chicory and sugar beets, covering 580 hectares and 710 hectares, respectively. Dedicated to keeping his fields clean from weeds, he employs a strategic mix of mechanical weeding and spraying with Ecorobotix’s ARA precision sprayer, aiming to minimize chemical usage while maximizing crop health and yield.
Discover
Ecorobotix has been awarded the 2024 Avantgarde Award by the Swiss-American Chamber of Commerce (Swiss AmCham) Southern California. This honor celebrates our dedication to advancing Swiss-American business relations through forward-looking innovation and impactful contributions to sustainable agriculture. After placing as a finalist last year, we are incredibly proud to have achieved first place in 2024.
Discover
At Ecorobotix, we are dedicated to delivering cutting-edge precision spraying technology that empowers farmers to significantly reduce herbicide usage. Data from nearly 3,000 missions in onion fields using our ARA ultra-high precision sprayer reveals impressive results, with nearly 70% of all missions achieving herbicide savings of 80%, and some missions saving as much as 98%.
Discover
