Floating Robotics automates labor-intensive tasks in farming with robotic hand manipulation, vision, and AI. High-value crops demand such automation throughout the world due to labor shortage problems. We give a hand to farmers! This is formally a robotic manipulator equipped with shears, cameras, and a state-of-the-art edge computer to recognize objects and pick them. The setup mounts on existing pipe trolleys in greenhouses to move around and complete rows one after each other. The robot currently harvests and de-leafs tomatoes in glass greenhouses.

During this project, we designed and integrated hardware components, successfully tested individual subsystems, and demonstrated precise tomato harvesting. The project closes the gap by inserting a fully functional harvesting robot into the agriculture industry, connecting it to industry-standard machinery and crates. Implementation activities involve renting the robot to farmers and preparing for the next pilot. The project has resulted in both an interim product and a spin-off company called Floating Robotics AG. Partnerships with industry (Beerstecher AG) and service providers (Helbling AG) have been established. The project will be continued by expanding the team and conducting further pilots. Follow-up funding includes a large SIP grant which allowed us to expand the team to 5 people for two years and focus on a paid pilot during 2024.