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ROBOVIVISION: Industrializing the AI of vision in agricultural robotics
Faced with the scarcity of the workforce and the increase in productivity requirements, agricultural automation stands out as an imperative necessity. However, despite the advances in artificial intelligence, the production of large -scale vision solutions production remains complex. Between the variability of agricultural environments and scalability constraints, many initiatives fail even before being industrialized. ROBOVISION, Belgian company specializing in AI applied to robotics, addresses this problem with a resolutely pragmatic approach: to provide manufacturers of original equipment (OEM) A turnkey platform to integrate efficient and scalable artificial vision models in their machines.
A promising market but strewn with pitfalls
However, despite the enthusiasm of investors and industrialists, the reality on the ground is more complex. Industrializing AI models in agriculture is a technical and organizational challenge. The diversity of cultures, climatic variations and adaptation constraints to external environments make the task arduous. So, Almost 80 % of AI projects do not exceed the prototype stageand more than half of the concepts developed never reach large -scale production. These failures are explained by several factors: a poorly anticipated technical debt, a difficulty in maintaining the performance of the models under changing conditions and a lack of solutions adapted to the needs of the manufacturers of agricultural machinery.
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ROBOVIVISION, an approach designed for industrialization
Faced with these difficulties, Robovision has chosen not to sell directly to farmers but to Contact machine manufacturers. This approach allows a more fluid integration of AI into existing equipment without modifying the habits of farmers. The company thus offers a software solution that allows OEM to embark artificial intelligence in their agricultural machines.
The platform ROBOVISION AI is based on three fundamental pillars. First of all, it offers a complete environment to create and cause artificial vision models, with simplified annotation and learning tools, combining open source algorithms and proprietary models. Then it allows a Local optimized deployment thanks to an architecture Edge Computingreducing dependence on cloud infrastructure and ensuring rapid execution of models directly in machines. Finally, it is based on a Continuous learning loopguaranteeing an automatic improvement in performance thanks to a regular collection and re -training of the models according to the field feedback.
This architecture allows OEMs to offer agricultural equipment incorporating an AI scalable and autonomouswhich adapts to the variations in cultures and new environmental conditions without requiring constant human intervention.
A technology applied to concrete cases
ROBOVIVISION has distinguished itself in several industrial applications, ranging from harvest to optimization of crops. Among the flagship projects, the automation of the size of the roses is an emblematic example. Thanks to a 3D vision system fed by Eight 2D camerasalgorithms are able to detect optimal cutting areas and send the instructions to a size robot. The learning of the model is carried out continuously, the corrections made by operators making it possible to gradually improve the precision of the cuts.
In another register, the company has developed solutions for crop phenotyping using drones. These devices equipped with high -resolution cameras collect data on the state of health of plantations, that AI analysis in order to provide recommendations to farmers. This type of application, integrated into SaaS platforms, allows cooperatives and operations to benefit from a fine and updated analysis of their cultures.
Another significant example, the tomato harvest robot developed in collaboration with a manufacturer of agricultural machines. With an autonomous navigation system, it evolves between the rows of crops to locate and pick fruit at maturity. Thanks to a technology of prediction of annotationsthe time required to learn the models has been divided by eight, considerably accelerating production.
An economic model aligned with the needs of industrialists
Robovision’s commercial approach is based on a SaaS model adapted to OEM. Access to the platform is conditioned on a license, and each machine integrating artificial vision technology is billed according to a “Pay as you grow” model. The more a manufacturer sells equipment, the more Robovision generates income, thus ensuring strategic alignment between the interests of both parties.
This tariff structure represents an alternative to AI consultantswhich generally charge their services to the time spent, rendering the projects long and expensive. By automating the management and improvement of models, Robovision allows manufacturers to reduce their costs while guaranteeing optimal performance.
A strong growing Belgian actor
Born in Belgium, Robovision has established itself as a reference in AI applied to industrial robotics. The company has 150 employees and deployed more than 1,000 machines incorporating its artificial intelligencegenerating more than 250 million euros in income for its OEM partners. It is not limited to the agricultural sector, since its technologies are also used in fields as varied as semiconductors (Hitachi), the foodst (Key Technology) or the recycling (Lindemann).
Its international development accelerates with The opening of an office in Florida in 2024.
