At CES® 2023 (Jan. 5-8), AGRIST, a Japanese agritech startup, will showcase “L,” the AI-powered harvesting robot capable of automatically identifying and picking harvest-ready bell peppers with millimeter precision through thickly layered leaves. Designed to reduce farmers’ workload, the robot patrols farms daily to monitor plants’ growth, providing growers with advice on optimal farm management. “L” won a CES 2023 CES Innovation Award in the robotics category.
“Bell peppers grow in random directions on stems, requiring a lot of skilled labor to harvest them. But that will soon be a story of yesterday’s farming, thanks to our ‘L’ robot,” said AGRIST CEO Junichi Saito. “What makes ’L’ special isn’t just its brain and eyes, or our proprietary AI algorithm and special camera system. The robot is also designed to fit with any existing farm layout without modifications, making AI
harvesting more accessible to farmers. We are thrilled to introduce this exciting technology at CES
2023.”
AGRIST EXHIBITS
Jan. 5-8 – CES 2023 (Japan Pavilion @Eureka Park)
Press Kit: https://tinyurl.com/49nnbwbu
Video: https://youtu.be/-wl2fCZ0GxE
About ‘L’ robot:
- “L” can identify each pepper’s position, its size and maturity, as well as its precise clipping point, through a combined utilization of different types of cameras, our proprietary AI algorithm and several additional recognition models created for different parts of a pepper.
- The robot slides itself along suspension wires installed on farms by rotating the small wheels attached to the top. This suspension system can be retrofitted to the existing farm layout.
- The robot has a uniquely designed end-effector attached to its arm that draws in stems until it meets the target pepper and clips it off (±10mm deviation). The arm folds itself to drop the crop in a collection box.
- The robot collects 3D data of all peppers while patrolling the farm, analyzing the number of days required for peppers to mature, among other factors, to predict crop volume, how to optimize growth, etc.
- Our lightweight recognition models for edge computing keep the cost down. (About 1,500,000 Japanese yen, or less than $10K USD, compared to 10,000,000 Japanese yen, or $73K USD, for conventional automatic harvesting robots.)
About AGRIST:
AGRIST is an agritech startup based in the Southern Japanese prefecture of Miyazaki, which is home to many bell pepper farms. Founded in 2019 by Junichi Saito, a former nonprofit executive who is passionate about creating solutions to societal problems, AGRIST develops automatic harvesting robots that can minimize the impact of the labor shortage issues in agriculture stemming from Japan’s aging society. For additional info, visit: https://agrist.com/about-agrist-english
About ‘Japan (J-Startup) Pavilion @Eureka Park’:
Presented by the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), the “Japan (J-Startup) Pavilion @Eureka Park” brings together the country’s innovative startups with proprietary leading-edge technologies. At CES 2023, the pavilion will feature 36 companies in industries ranging from AI to robotics, space to mobility, among others. For additional info about JETRO: https://www.jetro.go.jp/en/
About CES®
CES® is one of the world’s largest technology trade shows held annually in Las Vegas. Bringing together 2,279 exhibitors and 84,500 attendees between Las Vegas and online venues at CES 2022, the event is billed as the “the proving ground for breakthrough technologies and global innovators.” At CES 2020 held prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, 4,600 companies showcased 20,000 products and services
