Le 28/02/2024
2,500 visitors at the world's largest exhibition of agricultural robots: World FIRA 2024 a full house event
World FIRA 2024, which has become the benchmark event in the agricultural robotics sector, proved a resounding success for its 8th edition: 2,500 visitors from over 50 countries flocked to the Agrobiopôle near Toulouse, France.
From February 6 to 8, farmers (23% of visitors), dealers, agro-industrialists, scientists, investors, and advisors were all able to appreciate the latest advances in autonomous machinery for field crops, market gardening, viticulture and arboriculture.
The high level of participation from Chambers of Agriculture, cooperatives and agricultural training establishments proved that FIRA is now a must-attend event in the world of agricultural equipment.
Demos, workshops, and conferences confirmed that robots are indeed a solution to agroecology and labour issues.
35 robots displayed on 2 hectares of cultivated plots
Since September, the plots of land at the Cité des Sciences Vertes have been worked on with the help of FR CUMA Occitanie and INRAE to provide World FIRA visitors with triticale, garlic, faba bean and radish crops, ready for the robots. Rows of vines, adapted to the specific requirements of the machines, were also set up. On the orchard side, rows of apple trees enabled demos close to real-life conditions.
This 2nd edition of World FIRA in the fields provided a detailed presentation of robots and autonomous solutions in the field, close to the concerns of growers:
- Field crops (sowing, mechanical weeding, grain guidance and analysis):
MOVE ON, Robotti by AGROINTELLI, SoftiRover " e-K18 " by SOFTIROB, Newman by ULLMANNA, grain storage management Crover… or the AFARA cotton-picking robot.
- Market gardening and vegetable growing (tillage, mechanical and laser weeding):
Oz and Orio by Naïo Technologies, Trektor by SITIA, K.U.L.T.iSelect, by K.U.L.T, Robot One V2023 by PIXELFARMING ROBOTICS,…
- Viticulture (row and inter-row work, spraying and pruning):
Jo and Ted by Naïo Technologies, Trektor by SITIA, Aigro Up by Aigro BV, Agilehelper by Pek Automotive, TRAXX by EXXACT Robotics, YV01 by Yanmar, Modular-E by INES TEC, automated pruning arm from Robotic Perception…
- Arboriculture (harvesting and orchard maintenance):
RoboCut360 by LEGER, Agilehelper and Slopehelper by PEK AUTOMOTIVE, Free Green Nature by Maschio Gaspardo…
Exclusive announcements at World FIRA: launch of new robots and adapted technologies
Journalists attending the press tour on Wednesday, February 7th at 10:00 a.m. were given a sneak preview of:
- New Holland (France): presentation of the STOUT Smart Cultivator system
- Naïo Technologies and CAMSO (France): announcement of an R&D partnership aimed at adapting caterpillar tracks to agricultural robots for greater load-bearing capacity, accessibility, and flexibility in the field.
- Agrointelli (Denmark): presentation of new, even higher ROBOTTI capacities for field operations.
- PEK Automotive (Slovenia): the Slopehelper apple-picking robot.
- K.U.L.T. (Germany): presentation of the new K.U.L.T.ailaser laser weeding system.
- SICK (Germany / France): presentation of SICK sensors for farm machinery automation.
Press Releases available at this link: https://world-fira.com/media/
The first edition of the International Symposium on Agricultural Autonomy
The aim of the Symposium was to bring together international stakeholders in agricultural autonomy, in order to understand the current issues:
Three workshops punctuated the day on Thursday, February 8:
- “Field use cases, farmer, and manufacturer experience” with manufacturers Naïo Technologies, AGXEED, Agrointelli, and robot users.
- “Framework and application guidelines” with AEF, CEMA, FEDERUNACOMA and representatives from Japan and Australia.
- In the form of a bar camp, participants reflected together on the challenges of agricultural autonomy under different spectrums: costs, environment, data, safety, interface, farm organization...
Robots: a solution for the agro-ecological transition of farms?
This was the theme of the 5th Scientific Workshop, co-organized by FIRA, Robagri and INRAE on Tuesday, February 6. Four conferences presented the “Great Challenges” that agricultural robotics still has to meet, with the participation of robots in agro-ecological itineraries being a particular highlight.
The end of the day was marked by the first “Agricultural Robotics Controversies”, with Flavien Roussel from Naïo Technologies, Frédéric Robert from GIP LIA, Jean-Baptiste Keruzec, farmer and representative of FD CUMA du Tarn, and Jean-Luc Picourlat, farmer and CEO of Softirob, taking part in a particularly rich and lively debate with the participants in the room.
The winners of the World FIRA Awards 2024 are...
For the first time, World FIRA has consolidated its awards into a single ceremony, to reward manufacturers and their robots according to the opinions of different stakeholders:
- The “Ag Robot of The Year” - farmers’ choice:
Award for the best robot currently on the market, presented by Future Farming, and selected from the robots featured in the Ag-Robot Buying Guide 2024.
Jury’s vote: Tortuga AgTech F and G
Public’s vote: Digital workbench Tipard 1800
- The “Best Start-up” - investors’ choice:
Prize for the most promising start-up in terms of investment, awarded by the World FIRA investor jury.
Winner: Osiris Agriculture
- The “Hackathon Award” - scientists’ choice:
Awarded to the three best teams in the Hackathon competition organized by RobAgri, the Grand Défi Robotique Agricole, INRAE, 4D Virtualiz and Opal-RT.
Team #1: TS-Innolab
Team #2: Semtechno
Team #3: Airlab Team
- The “Best World FIRA Robot” - participants’
The robots presented at World FIRA that receive the most votes via the ballot box from participants, rewarded by World FIRA.
Gold Medal: ROBOTTI by Agronintelli
Silver Medal: Modular-E by INES TEC
Bronze Medal: RoboCut360 by Leger SAS