Developed by Porto-based ViField, Orioos uses cameras and algorithms to predict yields and detect diseases more accurately
A new robot that can ‘read’ an entire orchard or vineyard and make better, earlier predictions about crop yields and diseases has been made available to growers.
Orioos, which was developed in Portugal over the past four years, uses a system of sensors combined with AI algorithms to assess flowers during the early stage of production, for example in pears or grapes.
According to its developers, unlike other systems it can move around an entire farm and, as a result, make far more accurate estimates about its productivity.
“Instead of having only 10 per cent of the crop manually monitored, we can now monitor vineyards and orchards across their entire area, 24/7, through an autonomous process,” explains André Aguiar, researcher at Porto-based R&D centre Inesc Tec, where Orioos creator ViField is based.
Equipped with several cameras, the lightweight robot stores a wealth of data on board, including ‘memories’ of previous crops that can inform new assessments.
As a result, Aguiar says, it can accurately and continuously identify areas that show disease symptoms, water leaks, or a need for additional nutrients; and it can also do this at closer quarters than a drone. “We trained AI models capable of identifying crop conditions and detecting disease symptoms,” he notes. “The information we provide to decision-support systems – or directly to producers – has much greater added value.”
ViField’s work is now focused on adding new features – for example, estimating fruit weight and quality before harvest.
