CoRoSect - Swarming towards the future with robotics

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The buzzing potential of insect farms

In light of climate change, pressing food security issues and a looming environmental crisis, insect farming looks to be a hugely viable – and sustainable – solution, albeit one that requires substantial capital investment to get started.

Sustainability benefits

Insects require very little land or energy to produce, and they can be produced quickly and all year round unlike other feedstock such as soybeans.

Demand for protein

Insects require fewer resources, including land and water, to farm and are able to convert low-quality organic waste into protein-rich end products suitable for animal or human consumption.

Beyond aquaculture

Aquaculture is a promising beachhead market; however, other uses of insect-derived products are being explored, such as fertilizer and biofuels.

A profitable solution to food waste

Food waste is a global issue, yet few viable solutions have emerged. Insect farming is a promising example of circular economy put in practice.

Robotics and automation

One of the biggest challenges is the need for human intervention. CoRosect uses robotics to support all phases of the insect’s life cycle.

CoRoSect leverages robotics, AI, and big data to fix the disconnected food system, restoring insects as the missing piece of the puzzle in the modern food chain

How AI and robotics are scaling up insect farming

CoRoSect in a nutshell

CoRoSect brings a novel perspective to automated insect farming. We introduce a digitalized, integrated robotic solution to support all insect life cycle phases. The goal here is to create a collaborative environment where humans and robots harmoniously share and undertake various cognitively and physically demanding tasks, such as transferring and handling crates (de-stacking and stacking), monitoring environmental conditions larvae separation/detection, insect feeding, and more. This infrastructure will be implemented, tested and validated based on end-user needs and requirements in diverse insect production environments, namely Mealworm, Black Soldier Fly and Crickets.

Our objectives

1

Delivery of a real-world, robust and open human-robot digitalized collaborative working environment

2

Advanced service-oriented collaborative farm floor modelling and real-time orchestration, enabling genuine HRC through highly dynamic, open work cells.

3

Advanced AI-based cognitive perception both at different phases of the life cycle of insect farming process

4

Introduction of digitalized and networked smart mechatronic systems with advanced and sophisticated capabilities for robotic actions planning and control

5

Implementing advanced mechanisms for realizing safe and efficient Industry 4.0 compliant collaboration with humans

6

Incorporation of Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) elements for the uptake of the project outcomes, emphasizing on acceptability criteria, feedback from users and regulatory aspects

7

Delivery, deployment, demonstration and thorough evaluation of a functional system prototype in real-world operational environments

8

Intense dissemination, cooperation with other projects and data provision activities

9

Prepare the business exploitation of the project tools and services, in the context of application cases with high economic impact for the European (manufacturing) industry
There are many different types of crates out there designed to keep apart and transport insect instars. Transportation must be secure to suit the production flow. The production requires fine control over the crates to move them from one location to the next, making them available for processing and having them delivered for incubation and storage.
Use Case #1 Secure insect transport
Variation in the environment at different scales influence the development of ectotherm organisms such as insects. Moreover, the insect mass rearing itself impacts the growing area's climate, which is a relevant indicator of the process status. The goal is to ensure the environmental parameters are optimal for the production and alert for remedying actions when necessary.
Use Case #2 Sensing environment
Insect lifecycle might deviate from the expectation due to biological and environmental reasons and require direct observations. Detailed knowledge of the lifecycle of the insects to be reared, as well as the influence of the combination of different parameters/conditions occurring in the rearing chain, and of the species-specific diet requirement, is of paramount importance for improving the quality/quantity of the production and the usage of the sensors and robots.
Use case #3 Tendering insects
Harvesting and maintaining the breeding stock requires selecting and sorting insects, including direct picking/ moving and sorting assisted by vessels, vacuums and sieve type solutions. Besides, delicate handling is a crucial part of the production process: improper insect manipulation causes mortality and stress impacting the product quality.
Use Case #4 Handling insects

Use cases

Who we are

CoRoSect is a three-year project funded under Horizon 2020, the EU research and innovation programme. Led by Maastricht University, the consortium is a diverse and dynamic network of partners, representing key players in edible insect technology, farming automation, agricultural robotics, sustainability-oriented innovation and sustainable business models.

Insect farming stories you won't find anywhere else

Our newsletter covers the most exciting topics in insect farming, carefully curated by our team. Keep up to date with the latest developments and technologies, upcoming events, and details on CoRoSect pilots.

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