Wootzano, a County Durham-based innovator, recently organized a showcase event called “Nova” at the Biscuit Factory in Newcastle. The event featured their revolutionary Avarai robotics system, designed to delicately pack soft fruits and vegetables without causing any damage. The groundbreaking technology aims to address labor shortages faced by food producers in the agricultural sector.
During the event, attendees witnessed live demonstrations of the Avarai system, which utilizes dexterous robotic arms with enhanced sensory awareness. This enables the robots to carefully handle produce such as tomatoes and grapes. Dr. Atif Syed, the founder of Wootzano, provided a presentation on the company’s journey in electronic skin manufacturing, highlighting its successful application in previous robotic ventures, and its current use in Avarai as a proprietary post-harvest system.
The innovative technology has been developed to enhance productivity, sustainability, and efficiency within the agricultural industry. In recognition of its contributions, Dr. Syed was awarded the prestigious Princess Royal Silver Medal from the Royal Academy of Engineering.
Prominent speakers at the event included Nigel Jenney, CEO of the Fresh Produce Consortium, who discussed the challenges faced by the UK horticultural industry and the technological solutions on the horizon. Paul Wealls of Intel Geti delivered a presentation on the convergence of team collaboration and AI computer vision mastery, highlighting how technology enables robots to understand their surroundings visually.
The event also saw the participation of Wootzano’s partners from the United States, where the company is working to adopt its technology among food producers. Representatives from the Fresno County Economic Development Corporation emphasized California’s potential for agtech innovation and foreign investment due to its highly productive agricultural land.
Earlier this year, Wootzano announced a partnership with the Fresno County Economic Development Corporation, facilitating its expansion into the Californian market. This milestone signifies the significant growth of the company since its launch five years ago.
Furthermore, Wootzano is actively involved in the £9m ‘Agri-OpenCore’ project, supported by DEFRA’s Farming Innovation Programme. The project aims to address the labor shortages faced by the UK’s horticultural industry. Although there is currently no robotic harvesting system that can match the speed of human picking, the learnings from the Avarai packing system are being applied to overcome this challenge.
Wootzano’s showcase event has not only highlighted their groundbreaking technology but has also brought together international executives and industry leaders to collectively explore and shape the future of the food and agricultural sector.
Sources:
– Leeds Live (leeds-live.co.uk)
– Royal Academy of Engineering (raeng.org.uk)