AGVs and the Future of Apple Orchards
Overview
Agricultural technology has substantially aided farming industries, specifically apple orchards, through the implementation of Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs). These robot-like vehicles interpret and navigate the apple orchard environment with minimum to zero human intervention. With the advancement of technology, AGVs possess the potential to revolutionize the apple industry. This information guide provides key statistics about AGVs and their potential impact on the future of apple orchards. The guide concludes with key takeaways delivering practical insights about this growing technology. Finally, an introduction to 3Laws Robotics is made, a company addressing the challenges faced by robotics companies through their innovative software products.
AGVs and Apple Orchards
AGVs are proving to be a game-changing technology in the agriculture sector. According to the Association for Advancing Automation, the usage of AGVs in agriculture increased by 27% in 2019. Presently, in the apple orchards, AGVs are primarily used to carry out monotonous and physically challenging tasks such as fruit picking and yield monitoring. The manual task of picking an apple requires 150 to 200 milliseconds per apple; however, contemporary AGVs can pick an apple within 50 to 70 milliseconds, thereby increasing the yield by 66%-75%. The machine learning algorithms and computer vision technology of AGVs enable them to accurately distinguish between the mature and immature fruits, reducing wastage and improving the quality of the harvested apples.
AGVs - Future of Apple Orchards
As per a forecast from Markets and Markets, the AGV market is expected to grow to $2.9 billion by 2024, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 14.4%. This promising growth indicates the transforming dynamics of agriculture with an increased dependency on technology. The future of apple orchards with AGVs appears promising with features of AGVs like 24/7 operation, increased yield, decreased wastage, and efficient usage of water and fertilizers. Similarly, owing to their self-recharging feature, AGVs can work round the day increasing productivity by as much as 40% as opposed to traditional farming methods.
Key Takeaways - Apple orchards have witnessed a 27% increase in AGV usage in 2019. - The speed of AGVs in picking apples can bring about a 66%-75% increase in apple yield. - The AGV market is expected to reach $2.9 billion by 2024, with a CAGR of 14.4%. - Future AGV technologies can increase productivity by 40% compared to traditional farming methods.
3Laws Robotics
In the context of these advancements, 3Laws robotics offers innovative technology solutions to the AGV sector. 3Laws' software, 3Laws Supervisor, has been developed to aid the certification of AGVs, a common hurdle in the robotics industry. The software utilizes Control Barrier Functions, based on technology from Caltech that claims to provide mathematically provable safety.
Adaptable to multiple platforms such as mobile robots, cars, drones, and manipulators, using robotics middleware like ROS and ROS2, 3Laws Supervisor introduces real-time guardrails to autonomy stacks, allowing AGVs to operate at peak abilities while upholding safety.
With demonstrated use cases such as warehouse automation that led to an autonomous forklift customer achieving a 40% efficiency gain, 3Laws is positioning itself as a pioneer of the next generation safety solution.
3Laws aims to disrupt the traditional safety methods of robotics industry with a proactive approach, offering dynamic, predictive safety that can be safety certified for ISO 3691-4 and ISO 26262.