Pioneering the Future of Farming

Throughout agriculture’s storied history, there have been many technologies that transformed the sector forever. From the cotton gin to the steel plow, these advancements helped make a laborious job a little easier.

Now, as the industry adopts precision farming tools and other smart technologies, forward-thinking companies are working to unveil the next great innovation. Some have realized more success than others. Naïo Technologies is a shining example of what’s possible.

As the agricultural robotics pioneer debuts its groundbreaking Augmented Autonomy technology and celebrates the 10-year anniversary of its autonomous farming assistant, Oz, Naïo Technologies continues to revolutionize the farming industry in new and exciting ways. This dedication to craft results in perpetually improving advancements that assist farmers across the globe in reducing their physical, mental, and financial burdens.

“At Naïo Technologies, Augmented Autonomy is not just about automating tasks—it's about creating a fully connected farm ecosystem that empowers farmers to focus on what matters most,” says Aymeric Barthes, co-founder of Naïo Technologies. “With robots like Oz, Orio Ted, and Jo, we are paving the way for a more sustainable and efficient agriculture, where machines handle the repetitive work and allow farmers to unleash their creativity and expertise.”

Augmented Autonomy increases operational efficiency without human supervision.

While agtech companies around the world have worked tirelessly to develop powerful autonomous solutions for farmers’ greatest challenges, Naïo Technologies is the only company that boasts the ability to enable an entire fleet of robots to operate in the absence of human supervision. This revolutionary technology marks the beginning of a fully autonomous farm that can function amid an escalating global labor shortage.

Armed with the innovator’s groundbreaking Augmented Autonomy technology, farmers save time, increase operational efficiency and benefit from a connected ecosystem that empowers them to focus on the high-value tasks they’re best equipped to handle.

There are other benefits to adopting this state-of-the-art technology as well, the first of which is peace of mind. Naïo Technologies is the only company in the agricultural robotics sector offering both CE and FCC-certified autonomy for light and heavy robots. It’s also the only company to assume liability in the event of an incident, provided the machine’s usage conditions are respected.

“In agriculture, safety is paramount,” Laurent de Buyer, CEO of AXEMA. “As we adopt more advanced robotic solutions, it’s critical to follow the strictest safety protocols. This isn’t just about compliance, but about ensuring the safety of farmers and their teams as they work with these powerful technologies on a daily basis.”

For users focused on improving their environmental footprint, Augmented Autonomy offers several exciting solutions. Because the system manages lightweight and electric robots, there is reduced soil compaction. The system’s mechanical weeding features are beneficial for decreasing carbon emissions and chemical inputs. Augmented Autonomy takes precise plant-by-plant actions, which limits problems caused by treating an entire field of crops the same way.

Another positive way Naïo Technologies helps to streamline agricultural work is through its robust training and security features. By providing certified training programs, operators never have to wonder if they have the skills and information to effectively use Augmented Autonomy on their farms. The robots themselves go through their own type of training. A geofencing module that prevents a robot from leaving a predefined area and advanced obstacle detection systems enhance robot safety, and by proxy, the safety of everyone on and around the farm.

Augmented Autonomy gives users essential control over their robot fleets, but the technology will only continue to improve as robots further integrate with artificial intelligence tools. These integrations will help farmers optimize the entire crop cycle, ensuring better yield, traceability, and environmental protection long into the future.

Oz celebrates a decade of positively transforming agricultural operations.

As Naïo Technologies develops new platforms, machines, and systems to improve agricultural work, it pays homage to its heritage, too. The company’s agricultural assistant Oz is celebrating its 10-year anniversary, and it is the first agricultural robot on the market to reach this milestone. Launched commercially in 2014, the multifunctional fully electric machine immediately streamlined time-consuming and arduous tasks on commercial farms and beyond. Over the past decade, Oz has had applications in market gardening, seed production, nurseries, medicinal plants and more.

The Oz of today is hardly the same as the first commercially viable iteration. Since its debut, the robot has had many powerful enhancements, all of which have sought to make farmers’ best day-to-day autonomous ally even more versatile, precise, and user-friendly. Specifically, Oz now has a 50 percent more powerful motor, boasts 35 tools for various farming tasks (the most on the market), includes GPS RTK guidance that provides centimeter-level accuracy, and comes with a companion app for easy robot management and real-time monitoring.

Taken all together, Oz benefits farmers in numerous ways. It does so financially through increased productivity and reduced operational costs, physically and mentally by reducing the amount of human labor required to complete tasks, and environmentally by reducing chemical inputs and fuel reliance. These improvements are one reason there are 300 circulating robots across 48 countries. Users who have brought Oz onto their farms say that the machine has transformed their operations.

“Since Oz arrived at our experimental station 10 years ago, we’ve seen a significant reduction in the strenuousness of daily tasks for our vegetable farmers,” says Maët Le Lan, Head of the Auray Experimental Vegetable Farming Station.

“Oz allows us to delegate repetitive and physically demanding work, freeing up valuable time for higher-value activities such as harvesting, marketing, and sales. Programming the Oz robot is now part of our regular activities. This approach aligns perfectly with our philosophy of enhancing agricultural work and upskilling our employees by adopting autonomous, simple, durable, and efficient technological solutions.”

Naïo Technologies balances cutting-edge innovation with a deep respect for heritage.

Whether the company is developing new innovations that take autonomous farming to the next level or celebrating past robots that continually find ways to help more people around the world, Naïo Technologies is committed to reducing farmers' burdens and improving the sustainability and efficiency of farming operations everywhere.

The agtech leader credits its success to a blend of cutting-edge innovation and a deep respect for its heritage. Embodying this balance is what drives Naïo Technologies to advance agricultural practices well into the future while maintaining a watchful eye on the past.

“Our mantra, ‘empowering farmers,’ truly reflects our mission,” says Matthias Carrière, VP Sales of Naïo Technologies. “Everything we build is designed to alleviate the challenges that farmers face so they can be more creative and efficient in feeding the world. By simplifying their tasks and increasing their productivity, we help them focus on higher-value activities, making agriculture not just more sustainable, but more rewarding.”

To learn more, follow Naïo Technologies on Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), LinkedIn, and YouTube. The company posts the latest updates and innovations in agricultural robotics on these platforms. Naïo Technologies will also be attending FIRA USA in Woodland/Sacramento, California on October 22-24. Visit www.naio-technologies.com for additional information.