Aerial and terrestrial robots are set to transform Latin American agriculture following an agreement between the Small Robot Company and SpaceTime Labs, to collaborate on delivery of a ‘per plant’ approach to farming.
Per plant farming offers yield boost
Per plant farming aims to maximise yields whilst reducing the impact on the environment. This approach currently exists on a small scale in research institutes and trial farms and has been shown to achieve yields 235% times higher than commercially grown wheat.
The Small Robot Company has developed a farming as a service business model using swarms of small autonomous robots. By working with SpaceTime Labs it will extend this to offer ‘sense-predict-act’ service that integrates weed, disease and nutritional management.
The companies will work with leading Brazilian and Argentinian farmers to prototype, test and scale per plant farming – to maximise yields for all key commercial crops in Latin America.
Collaboration between UK and Brazillian companies
SpaceTime Labs is a Brazilian company, that develops industrial scale automated machine learning, computer vision and advanced analytics platforms aimed at solving complex operational planning, optimization and risk management problems. Particularly those of resource-intensive sectors which are exposed to climate and water risk.
Sam Watson-Jones, co-founder of Small Robot Company, said: “The opportunity is immense and our strategic partnership with SpaceTime Labs means that we can enter this market with confidence. Now is the time for us to work together to create a more sustainable farming model in Latin America, starting with Brazil and Argentina.”
Juan Carlos Castilla-Rubio, Founder and Chairman of SpaceTime Labs, comments: “Our strategic partnership with Small Robot Company will allow us to automate a “sense-predict-act” delivery model that acts upon the many variables that are responsible for yield productivity gains and losses at a plant level. So, partner farmers in Latin America can have a step-change in performance across the board,”
The UK International Trade Secretary Liz Truss said: “The UK is a world leader in technology and is at the forefront of the Agri-Tech industry. We have pioneering scientists and expert farmers, so it’s fantastic to see British businesses like the Small Robot Company reach international markets and develop new innovative technology for Latin American farmers. This is just one great example of the global trading opportunities out there for UK Agri-Tech industry.”