New Zealand-based firm Robotics Plus, a specialist in agricultural automation options, has entered into an settlement to be acquired by Yamaha Motor to type the muse of Yamaha Agriculture, a brand new firm targeted on delivering autonomous tools and AI-powered digital options that assist growers within the specialty crop market change into extra sustainable, worthwhile and resilient within the face of scarcer sources and local weather change.
Robotics Plus specialises in creating automation options for agriculture, combining experience in robotics, automation, sensing and information analytics. Its newest improvement, Prospr, is a strong, autonomous, multi-purpose hybrid automobile designed to carry out a variety of orchard and winery duties. Constructed to deal with labour shortages and improve effectivity, precision, sustainability, and security, Prospr is able to a number of actions together with spraying and weed management. Robotics Plus’ improvements additionally contains the Āporo Fruit Packer, which automates fruit packing, and a robotic log scaler to automate log measurement for vehicles and trains.
“Robotics Plus was based on a imaginative and prescient to develop state-of-the-art robotic expertise to resolve a number of the international agriculture trade’s largest challenges, together with labour, productiveness and sustainability points. This acquisition is a testomony to the sturdy partnership we’ve constructed with Yamaha over time, pushed by a shared imaginative and prescient and dedication to empowering large-scale growers. Improvements like Prospr are on the coronary heart of Yamaha Agriculture’s international technique, enabling a data-driven strategy to precision agriculture. With Yamaha’s help, we’re poised to speed up our robotics improvements, considerably scale our {hardware} manufacturing, and develop additional into key markets such because the US, and past,” says Steve Saunders, co-founder and CEO of Robotics Plus.
Since 2017, Yamaha Motor, the dad or mum firm of newly launched US-based Yamaha Agriculture has supported Robotics Plus with strategic funding to drive improvement of agricultural automation applied sciences and to develop its presence within the agtech sector.
Following Robotics Plus’ acquisition, the corporate will proceed to function its core enterprise at its headquarters in Tauranga.
“Guided by our mission to make sure growers are sustainable, worthwhile, and resilient, Yamaha Agriculture acknowledges that the challenges dealing with specialty crop growers require considerate options that can take time to develop. We consider significant innovation in agriculture emerges by means of shut collaboration with growers and trade companions. The capabilities of Robotics Plus in robotics and automation shall be an vital constructing block in addressing these challenges together with AI-powered information analytics. We’re dedicated to a deliberate strategy that prioritizes creating actual worth for growers whereas sustaining the excessive requirements of high quality and reliability for which Yamaha Motors is thought,” says Nolan Paul, Group CEO, Yamaha Agriculture, Inc.
