Western Growers (a large farmers’ cooperative in California) and Radicle Growth (a funding organisation) have selected the four finalists who will be competing in the inaugural Radicle Automation Challenge for a minimum of $250,000 in investment capital and exclusive access to farm acreage to pilot their technologies.
On 26 June 2018, these four agtech start-up companies will pitch their technologies to a panel of investors, corporate partners and agricultural pioneers who will decide whether and how much to invest. The winner will be announced during the pitch session and officially presented with an award later that evening during the Western Growers’ Innovation Showcase Dinner at the Forbes AgTech Summit.
The following are the four companies – who are developing technologies that improve on-farm efficiencies and inventing automation to help relieve agriculture’s labour shortage – selected to compete in the Radicle Automation Challenge:
Augean Robotics: Augean Robotics builds Burro, a robot that follows pickers and functions as a virtual conveyor belt between pick points and collection points, allowing hand pickers to pick continuously rather than wasting up to 30% of their time shuttling produce.FruitSpec: FruitSpec provides a highly accurate fruit yield estimation from the early immature green fruit stage when critical decisions are made. Ganaz: Ganaz helps farms recruit and engage with their workforce. Using their growing network of thousands of farm workers and their social media integrations, Ganaz lets farms recruit farm workers with a few taps from their smartphone. Once on the job, farmers can get essential messages out to their workforce (like shift changes) and solicit feedback on working conditions to improve retention.GroGuru: GroGuru has a 100% wireless underground sensor that is able to transmit from as far below ground as 6ft. In addition, its transmission device can work with other sensors. Its wireless solution can instrument, monitor, collect and analyse data, and deliver real-time results for optimal soil and water management across all soil and crop types.These companies may not be directly involved in agriculture as we know it but the technology may become of interest to Irish growers over time and as it is developed further.
Western Growers (a large farmers’ cooperative in California) and Radicle Growth (a funding organisation) have selected the four finalists who will be competing in the inaugural Radicle Automation Challenge for a minimum of $250,000 in investment capital and exclusive access to farm acreage to pilot their technologies.
On 26 June 2018, these four agtech start-up companies will pitch their technologies to a panel of investors, corporate partners and agricultural pioneers who will decide whether and how much to invest. The winner will be announced during the pitch session and officially presented with an award later that evening during the Western Growers’ Innovation Showcase Dinner at the Forbes AgTech Summit.
The following are the four companies – who are developing technologies that improve on-farm efficiencies and inventing automation to help relieve agriculture’s labour shortage – selected to compete in the Radicle Automation Challenge:
Augean Robotics: Augean Robotics builds Burro, a robot that follows pickers and functions as a virtual conveyor belt between pick points and collection points, allowing hand pickers to pick continuously rather than wasting up to 30% of their time shuttling produce.FruitSpec: FruitSpec provides a highly accurate fruit yield estimation from the early immature green fruit stage when critical decisions are made. Ganaz: Ganaz helps farms recruit and engage with their workforce. Using their growing network of thousands of farm workers and their social media integrations, Ganaz lets farms recruit farm workers with a few taps from their smartphone. Once on the job, farmers can get essential messages out to their workforce (like shift changes) and solicit feedback on working conditions to improve retention.GroGuru: GroGuru has a 100% wireless underground sensor that is able to transmit from as far below ground as 6ft. In addition, its transmission device can work with other sensors. Its wireless solution can instrument, monitor, collect and analyse data, and deliver real-time results for optimal soil and water management across all soil and crop types.These companies may not be directly involved in agriculture as we know it but the technology may become of interest to Irish growers over time and as it is developed further.
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