Highlights from robotics discussion “Working side by side with agrifood robots – opportunities and challenges”+

Robotics Panel Discussion was organized and held on the 25th of November, as part of one of the largest agrifood events in Europe – AgriFood Forum 2021, organised by the European Parliament (Liaison Office in Lithuania) and our community building partner Agrifood Lithuania DIH. The experts from this field gathered in one place to share their knowledge and exchange their in-depth expertise among the next projects: CoRoSect, Robs4Crops, Robotics4EU CSA, and FlexiGroBots. 

A few industry-leading names were featured in this panel: Daniel Calvo Alonso – Head of the Artificial Intelligence, Data and Robotics unit at Atos Research and Innovation (FlexiGroBots Coordinator), Anneli Roose – Project Manager at Civitta Estonia (Robotics4EU Coordinator) and Dr. Rico Mockel – Associate Professor of Cognitive Robotics and Intelligent Systems at Maastricht University (CoRoSect Coordinator). During the discussion, they have exchanged insights about autonomous robotics, smart implements, AI-based robots in the agri-food sector and many more. It was our pleasure to co-host this panel during which they have exchanged insights about autonomous robotics, smart implements, AI-based robots in the agri-food sector and many more. This high-level panel will be moderated by Kristina Sermuksnyte-Alesiuniene, DIH Coordinator/Cluster Manager at AgriFood Lithuania DIH.

Rico took the floor to share his experience with CoRoSect robots. He noted that CoRoSect robots are widely used in agriculture where they take care of a wide range of processes in insect farms. An example he gave was how an autonomous guided vehicle that can drive inside the insect farms can also be used and implemented in other agrifood sectors with only some modifications. He stated that these robots really show their abilities once they are integrated into the ecosystems.

What he pointed out is that many other EU projects, alongside CoRoSect, work on generating the whole framework around robots, where people will be put in charge and thus help them to keep track of the operations these robots are conducting. In this way, the processes of the insect farms, and agriculture in general, can be optimized, allowing the different experts in these fields to share the knowledge among themselves.

The following is an edited and condensed summary of the panel discussion where the speakers provided the audience with their conclusion on the subject.  

Annalie spoke about how technology should be developed with and for society. She believes that many of the challenges can be tackled only if they work together with the end-users of their products. She encouraged everyone to work together with colleagues from other areas and with end-users of their products in order to actually gain benefits and really shift the future of the agrifood sector.

In Rico’s view, there are already some developments that are pushing forward. First, he commented that there is a strong push for robotization in many domains, specifically in the agrifood sector. Then he mentioned that there is also a need for cognitive robots that can gain a better understanding of the environment and also about the plants and animals that they take care of. He states that the focal point should be on the robots that make it out in the field and closely collaborate with humans, and not on the robots that are “hidden somewhere in the factory”. He noted that he is satisfied with ethical concerns being addressed because they have to integrate the projects successfully into the society and “work actually for the humans, not just for technology”. 

Continuing, Daniel showed his agreement with Annalie and Rico, adding that they need to create new AI and robotic systems that are humancentric, made together with end-users and the rest of the stakeholders in the agrifood sector.

Interested to get more insights on the panel discussion?

Watch the whole session below!