Start-up GRoboMac to pilot robot cotton-picking in TN this summer
Inexperienced Robotic Equipment Pvt Ltd (GRoboMac), a Bengaluru-primarily based farm robotics get started-up, strategies to pilot its battery-operated cotton selecting robot named Pragati in Tamil Nadu about June-July for harvesting the summertime crop.
“We system to deploy the four-arm variation robot as a pilot on a 12-acre plot in Tamil Nadu,” explained Manohar Sambandam, Founding Associate and CEO, Inexperienced Robotic Equipment Pvt Ltd.
Cotton is grown in sections of the rice fallows in the Cauvery delta region of Tamil Nadu as a summertime crop, which is normally harvested throughout June-July.
GRoboMac is also eyeing the commercialisation of Pragati in the forthcoming kharif harvest year by October, Sambandam explained.
The robot uses 3D vision artificial intelligence and has robotic arms custom designed for the cotton crop. The business is nevertheless to finalise the pricing for the machine that is getting focused at cotton growers with land holdings of five hectares and higher than.
The Lithium-ion battery operated robot can select about 50 kgs in excess of ten-hour period for each working day from plants that are as high as five.five feet.
“It will be viable for farmers with five hectares and higher than, who can recover the price of the machine in excess of three seasons,” he explained.
Supplemental features
GRoboMac, which has been doing the job on developing the cotton selecting machine because 2014-15, is also exploring addition of spraying functionality to the robot, so that it can be made use of to have out spraying of pesticides, weedicides and foliar nourishment, he explained.
Spraying pesticides and weedicides and selecting the bolls are labour-intense procedure in the cotton crop cycle, which the business aims to handle.
A short while ago, GRoboMac has shipped its initial device of Pragati cotton selecting robot to the Nationwide Agriculture Greater Schooling Task Centre of Sophisticated Agricultural Science & Technological know-how (NAHEP CAAST) centre of Vasantrao Naik Marathwada Krishi Vidyapeeth at Parbhani, Maharashtra.
Advancement of analysis
This two-arm cotton selecting machine will be made use of by NAHEP CAAST for advancement of more features and analysis at their centre and for pilot deployment of these machines in the cotton belt of Maharashtra.
“We are glad to be involved with NAHEP, Parbhani in their effort and hard work to endorse Robotics and Drone-primarily based agriculture mechanisation,” Sambandam explained. Also, the business is in talks with Karnataka and Telangana for pilots of these machines.
