AGRICULTURAL ROBOTICS AND automation company, Robotics Plus, won the NZTE Most Innovative Hi-Tech Agritech Solution awards for its robotic Āporo apple packer at the 2019 NZ Hi-Tech Awards late last month.
Āporo apple packers, commercially launched in May 2018, identify and safely place up to 120 apples per minute in display trays. The technology is being marketed by Global Pac Technologies, a Jenkins Group (NZ/Australia) and Van Doren Sales (US) joint venture, and is already operating in packhouses in New Zealand and the USA, with Europe to follow.
George Kellerman, CEO & Managing Director Yamaha Motor Ventures & Laboratory Silicon Valley, says the company invested in Robotics Plus as increasingly agricultural demands, including labour shortages globally, will need sophisticated and precision robotics and automation technologies that will transform the agricultural industries.
Robotics Plus has a range of technologies under development to address major issues in the horticulture industry caused by labour shortages and increasing consumer demand for fresh fruit, include: an autonomous agricultural vehicle, robotic pollinator, robotic harvesters, crop estimator, and a number of confidential projects.
The award capped off a successful 12 months for Robotics Plus, which included the launch of its first commercial products and an investment of $US8M from partner Yamaha Motor Co. Ltd. (Japan), to bring its total investment to $US10M.
