The agricultural robot circles a vegetable field with its eight solar modules. Unlike conventional, permanently installed photovoltaic systems, it can rotate 360°, allowing the crops to receive sufficient sunlight while generating solar energy at the same time. According to Josef Franko - founder of AI.Land and developer of the prototype - the device is 50% more efficient in its use of parallel energy and vegetable production compared to immobile shade-casting agrivoltaic systems. The German Advisory Council on Global Change (WBGU) describes this kind of dual use as a sustainable strategy for generating more profit. "There is only a limited amount of land available," says Alexander Bonde, Secretary General of the German Federal Environmental Foundation (DBU). "We therefore need a sustainable approach to land - for climate protection, biodiversity conservation and food security at the same time." Digitalization and AI are "promising instruments for the multiple use of land" and the project is a good example of this.

Farming, sowing, watering, fertilizing and harvesting

Company vision: The semi-mobile agricultural robot 'Davegi' developed by the start-up AI.Land is designed to load 60 vegetable crates per day.

© AI.country

According to the startup, the 'Davegi' will be an agricultural all-rounder and will be able to till, sow, water, fertilize and harvest in the future. "With our prototype, all plant cultivation processes - from soil cultivation to harvesting - can be carried out precisely, depending on the needs of the individual plants," says Franko, who is focusing on organic farming with the system. According to him, the individual treatment saves on fertilizers, pesticides and water. The plants should also be harvested when they have reached the appropriate maturity, which reduces food waste. The company's vision is for Davegi to autonomously and energy self-sufficiently fill 60 crates per day with a total of 600 harvested vegetables in ten different varieties on 2,500 square meters, about a third of a soccer pitch. "We want to sell the vegetables regionally," says Franko. A test field is being planned. Short distances save fuel and therefore energy. In addition to self-sufficient operation with solar energy, this also improves the greenhouse gas balance in vegetable cultivation.

Modern Agriculture Innovation Award

For Franko, the semi-mobile agricultural robot is an important intermediate step towards fully automated agriculture. "With the prototype, we are demonstrating in a first step that photovoltaic-powered, energy self-sufficient and fully automated vegetable production, including field logistics, is possible," says the start-up founder.

AI.Land will launch the 'RoboFeld' pilot project at the end of 2024. In a second step, families from Kempen and the surrounding area will receive fresh vegetables directly from the field. AI.Land received the 'Innovation Prize for Modern Agriculture', endowed with 5,000 euros, for its invention at the International Green Week 2024 in Berlin. AI.Land was founded in November 2020 by the Institute for Mobile Autonomous Systems and Cognitive Robotics at Aachen University of Applied Sciences and currently employs 15 people.