The Weta robot, developed within the scope of the SCORPION project – promoted by INESC TEC’s Centre for Robotics in Industry and Intelligent Systems (CRIIS) -, received the IF Design Award 2022.
This new technology, designed by Everythink – a company incubated in UPTEC – Parque de Ciência e Tecnologia of U. Porto, aims to address the question of movement in mountain vineyards, thanks to its ability to perform monitoring, precision spraying, weeding and selective harvesting tasks in the context of permanent and tree crops. As a process automation technology with high precision levels, this solution aims to reduce the use of plant protection products significantly, while increasing the quality of agricultural tasks.
This project is particularly relevant to SMEs and start-ups, which are generally subject to limitations regarding the development of robotic platforms, since it’s a tool designed to be easily acquired and produced by small companies that seek to enter the market with a robotic solution for precision agriculture.
Filipe Neves dos Santos, head of the project, highlighted the importance of receiving such an important award. “This award shows the quality of our prototypes and is badge of quality that we can present to potential companies that adopt these technologies,” he said.
The award was presented on May 16, at a Gala Night in Berlin. This is the second iF Design Award from Everythink, the UPTEC company responsible for the design of the robot, which won the award in 2018 with the creation of a carbon fiber violin.
The iF Design Award is an international design award, established in 1953. Launched in Germany, this initiative grants technologies the iF badge of quality, i.e., “good design for consumers and the design community alike”.
Portugal has won a total of 11 awards – and there are more than 3500 winners worldwide.
The INESC TEC researcher mentioned in this news piece is associated with INESC TEC.
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