Augmentus offers the leading full-stack code-free robotic automation platform that enables anyone, even those with no robotic experience, to develop robotic systems. We have partnerships with the world's leading robot manufacturers and automation providers to empower manufacturers to recoup ROI faster by lowering time, cost and skill barriers in robotic automation.
Augmentus ushers in a new era of human-machine interface, enabling 10X faster system deployments and saving thousands of automation costs within weeks of integration.
On a global scale, robots for agriculture is one of the biggest trends for 2020, as the world struggles to reduce its vulnerability to volatility.
As a small country that relies so much on foreign imports, Singapore has to adapt. With Singapore’s “30 by 30” goal to have 30% of its food supply onshore, agri-food tech startups are in the spotlight for supporting this movement. S$55 million from Enterprise Singapore (ESG) has also been assigned to boost the growth of local agriculture and aquaculture companies. With the support of institutions, Singrow can innovate and incorporate the most suitable technology in their farms.
By centralising the programming platform, Augmentus has automated urban farming in Singrow’s vertical farms.
Strawberries require a cold climate to survive and grow, thus tropical and desert areas are unable to cultivate them. To solve this issue, Singrow uses state-of-the-art technology to grow premium strawberries in the places you would least expect.
THE CHALLENGE : Automating Pollination & Harvesting
The main challenges to achieve this is that:
- Small and fragile flowers and strawberries require delicate handling by the robotic arm.
- High-level AI model is needed to identify flowers in full-bloom and ripe strawberries, among the stems and leaves.
- Technology needed for all the steps from seedling propagation, pollination to harvesting are provided by multiple sources, making it time-consuming and costly to coordinate.
THE SOLUTION : AI Model to Identify Ripe Strawberries & Flowers
Augmentus’s integrated artificial intelligence (AI) model can identify both flowers and strawberries, eliminating the need for separate systems.
Once the flowers are identified by a camera on the robotic arm, the fan gets activated to blow faster for more effective pollination.By matching the strawberry to its database using a camera or infrared scanner, the robot can be programmed to pick out ripe strawberries with a suitable end-effector.
Urban farming; strawberry harvesting using a robotic arm
Unified Programming Software
Dynamic automation is often a fragmented process. For example, it is cumbersome to have separate hosts for the AI model and the programming software. Since Singrow plans to automate their entire agricultural system, there has to be a one-stop solution for all the steps required from pollination to harvesting.
This is where Augmentus value-adds to the Singrow technology ecosystem.
Without the extra trouble to source for multiple suppliers and programmers, having this unified platform is ideal for SMEs with limited resources that seek dynamic automation.
No Code Robotics
With code-free robot programming, this reduces the technical barrier for robot operators to activate the robots.
Through mixed reality, the tablet or mobile device displays a live video feed of the robotic arm and its movements. Using simple waypoints by tapping on the tablet screen, the user can easily program the robotic arms to grab the strawberries, without technical expertise.
Image: (from left to right)
Daryl Lim, Bao Shengjie and Xu Tao ( from Singrow ), Yong Shin Leong and Chong Voon Foo
The Success
With a unified system for an integrated approach, Augmentus provides a simple yet dynamic solution for Singrow’s problems.
Image:
Demonstration of a robotic arm with Artificial Intelligence to Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry, Dr Koh Poh Koon
FEATURED PRODUCTS FOR THIS PROJECT
Universal Robots : e-Series Cobots
OnRobot : Closer look on using Soft Gripper as fruits picker
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