INESC TEC presented an picture of the future of agriculture and the answers to the challenges that lie ahead. Herculano’s manager praised the company’s “technology partner of choice”.
With the latest innovations and technological advances in the agricultural world under the spotlight, INESC TEC presented ongoing solutions in robotics and automation. The event Agritec Day, organised by Herculano, brought together customers, suppliers and partners towards valuing the sector.
Filipe Neves dos Santos took the stage to present the future challenges of agriculture and how we can find the Institute’s solutions in many fields in Portugal. In a “journey” through the recent evolution of mechanisation and the untapped potential of robots and drones, the INESC TEC researcher said that the partnership with Herculano should reap fruits over the next two years: a robot capable of pruning and harvesting is almost ready to join the monitoring and spraying robotics solutions already available.
The researcher also emphasised how INESC TEC’s agronomic, mechanical and electrotechnical engineers develop solutions to agriculture-related issues, always seeking to validate them in the field.
Photos: © Revista Voz do Campo
The institution took the Modular-E robot to this event (which ended up winning another award). Developed in partnership with Herculano, it can transport different tools and provide a sustainable solution to the control of vegetation and fertilisation. The researcher stressed that these machines, “smaller, compact and automated”, may translate into “lower costs to the farmers”, and cover more ground.
Filipe Neves dos Santos’ vision was praised by Fernando Jorge Pinto, manager of the Ferpinta Group, which owns Herculano. “We had the opportunity to explore the future of agriculture, with the brilliant intervention by Filipe Neves dos Santos, from INESC TEC – our technological partner of choice -, who introduced a clear version of the impact that automation and robotics will have on our sector,” he said during the final remarks of the Agritec Day.
The event took place on October 24 at Europarque, in Santa Maria da Feira, with discussions ranging from the valorisation of manure – “previously perceived as a challenging waste, now as a useful, sustainable and valuable source for agriculture” (according to Herculano’s statement) – to this company’s new solutions for agriculture.
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