When California Gov. Jerry Brown signed the law that assures farmworkers of overtime pay for more than eight hours a day in the field, it was “good news for one group: Agriculture robotics startups,” says AgFunderNews. BreAnn Washburn of Smart Vision Works says, “In our experience, farmers are not looking for new technologies that will replace employees, but technologies that will help them be more efficient with the employees they already have.”
Smart Vision Works, based in Utah, uses machinery to help sort and grade produce in agricultural processing lines. Another company, Soft Robotics has developed a mechanical arm with grippers – “octopus fingers” – that can handle fruit. The device can help during processing and one day may perform the picking.
There are very few startups in the ag tech sector that focus on robotics and machine labor, says AgFunderNews, which listed eight in the United States, France and Spain combined. Robotics research and development is expensive and time consuming. “Robotics are not very adaptable right now. Agriculture is very unstructured by definition,” says chief executive Carl Vause of Soft Robotics.