botANNIC (robot gardener)

2023: Product Announcement

Specialists from NITU MISIS, Tambov State Technical University (TSTU), China University of Mining and Technology and the Higher School of Economics (HSE) have developed a botANNIC robot that will help increase yields and reduce fruit losses due to diseases and pests. The robotic gardener independently moves around the garden and monitors fruits on trees, fixing sick and damaged among them.

The device has a stereo camera that works with a neural network to reproduce human vision. On the ground, the robot is "oriented" using a three-dimensional map, and the operator can also set a route for it manually. The wheel platform has dimensions of 1.5 by 1.5 meters, and the carrying capacity is 200 kg. A manipulator can be additionally installed on it for sampling fruits or harvesting. The power of the electric motor is 500 watts.

Robot botANNIC

The robot draws up a sanitary map of agricultural planting diseases. The accuracy of his data exceeds 80%. The device cannot replace a person, he is able to act only as an assistant. At the moment, its use in greenhouses is not supposed due to the lack of tracks for the wheelbase.

botANNIC was created to work in intensive gardens, where fruit trees are planted according to a compacted scheme. The developers are going to improve it by adding additional sensors and a laser emitter so that the robot can destroy weeds and harmful insects.

Pavel Tyurin, chief technologist of the Frudovoye society, told Izvestia that by May 2023, fruit quality control on fruit plantings is carried out manually. To do this, there is a hotel position - a forecaster or entomologist. He constantly conducts an inspection of the garden. His duty is to monitor the condition of trees and fruits.^[1]

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