“Our aim is to have the robots perform all the work farmers are currently able to do." With these words, Konstantinos Kandylas, founder of the Kilkis-based Terra Robotics firm, presents the features of the electricity powered robot he started building with his friend and co-founder Petros Katsileros, 1.5 years ago.
“At this stage we are trying to finish the prototype, whose purpose it to move autonomously within a field and perform everyday tasks. By the word tasks, we refer to things like weeding, spotting plant diseases, etc,” Kandylas told Kathimerini.
“The experimental robot our team is constructing can roam around a field alone, under the surveillance and with the intervention of the user. In the second stage we intend to add various tools used by farmers so as to identify the effect their installation on the robot will have,” he added.
Kandylas and Katsileros are currently perfecting the design of the engineering platform for the final version of the product and expect to have the robot moving in the field without the need of any intervention from the user by the end of the year.
The product of Terra Robotics will promise farmers improved performance of their field, a reduction in production costs and an increase in the output.
The robot farmer is planned to work between six and eight hours a day, with the added bonus of the robot leaving the ground softer behind it than a tractor, allowing for better irrigation.
"I developed knowledge in the field of agricultural production due to our family business, which allowed me to realise the need to increase production and labor for the best possible yield of organic farming," Kandylas continued. "So, we [Katsileros] had the stimuli but also the confidence to proceed with the construction of the electric robot and the creation of Terra Robotics."