Naïo Technologies launches robotic weeder for large vegetable farms

“Could you make a bigger version of Oz, a robot that straddles and weeds large, tightly planted vegetable beds?” This recurring question has led Naïo Technologies to create a new robotic weeder, 4 years after the launch of their autonomous weeding robot Oz. The new robot goes by the name of Dino and has been specifically designed for vegetable farms of 10 ha (24 acres) or more. The Dino robot straddles vegetable beds to mechanically weed them without human intervention.

The Dino weeding robot is designed for farmers who aim to save time through efficient mechanical weeding. Dino is lighter and more energy-efficient than a tractor. It doesn’t compact soil, is environment-friendly and also avoids unnecessary physical strain during weeding. Naïo Technologies’ Dino robot was first presented at the Tech & Bio Meeting on Crops and Machinery in Bignan, France on June 1st and 2nd, 2016.

In order to adapt to soil and crop type, the Dino robot can be equipped with a range of laboring tools in the same way as a tractor. These tools are also compatible with the Oz weeding robot: inter-row plowshares, comb harrows, spring harrows and specific plowshares for in-row weeding. More tools, such as Kress finger weeders, are currently under way to enable a variety of weeding techniques while respecting the robots’ technical characteristics.

 

The Dino robot is now available worldwide

On June 1st and 2nd, 2016, the visitors of the Tech & Bio Meeting on Crops & Machinery were the first to discover the Dino prototype in Bignan, France. The robot received a warm welcome and will be marketed in the coming months. Interested farmers and companies are invited to contact Naïo Technologies or their distributors.

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