Robotics & Automation News

Where Innovation Meets Imagination

Agriculture

AutoStore technology powers next-generation robotic vertical farm

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Warehouse automation specialist AutoStore and vertical farming company OnePointOne have launched an innovative vertical farming system – supplying Whole Foods with fresh greens grown faster, smarter, and closer to customers.

In a warehouse outside Phoenix, thousands of herbs and vegetables are growing in robot-powered bins, moving smoothly through a towering, Rubik’s cube-like grid. This is Opollo Farm: a fully automated vertical farming system built by AutoStore and OnePointOne.

Robots move crops through a precision-controlled environment, adjusting their position to deliver the perfect balance of water and nutrients. The result? Harvest-ready greens in just 15 days – about half the time of traditional farming – and grown just miles from where they’re consumed. [Read more…] about AutoStore technology powers next-generation robotic vertical farm

John Deere: Harvesting the future – automation, autonomy, and the investor landscape

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Our recent article, Deere unveils new combine harvester with ‘expanded advanced automation’, became one of our most-read pieces in the past few months.

This probably underscores a strong public interest in the intersection between agricultural tradition and cutting-edge technology that is capturing the attention of both farmers and, increasingly, investors.

Deere & Co. (DE), listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), currently trades around $481. As of early May 2025, its market capitalization stands at approximately $130-131 billion. [Read more…] about John Deere: Harvesting the future – automation, autonomy, and the investor landscape

PTx Trimble launches ‘first’ autonomous grain cart solution

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PTx Trimble, formed in 2024 by AGCO and Trimble, has launched “OutRun”, which it describes as “the first commercially available autonomous retrofit grain cart solution on the market”.

The innovation has already been awarded the prestigious Davidson Prize at Commodity Classic 2025 in Denver, Colorado.

The award, presented by the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) and the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM), recognizes breakthrough innovations in agricultural engineering that improve efficiency, sustainability and productivity. [Read more…] about PTx Trimble launches ‘first’ autonomous grain cart solution

Vertical farming company 80 Acres acquires three indoor facilities from Kalera

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80 Acres Farms is expanding its footprint with the acquisition of three indoor vertical farms and related IP previously owned by Kalera. The farms are strategically located in Georgia, Texas, and Colorado.

As the demand for fresh, local, pesticide-free produce continues to grow, 80 Acres Farms is leveraging more than a decade of industry learnings by acquiring and revitalizing existing vertical farming facilities.

The company is turning these assets into productive farms through its Infinite Acres technology, proven operational expertise, and commercial relationships. [Read more…] about Vertical farming company 80 Acres acquires three indoor facilities from Kalera

Top 20 vertical farming companies: Has the dream failed, or is it just changing?

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Vertical farming was once hailed as the future of agriculture – a way to grow food in cities, with no pesticides, less water, and zero food miles.

Investors poured hundreds of millions of dollars into high-tech startups promising to revolutionize farming. Yet today, many of those once-promising ventures have filed for bankruptcy or quietly disappeared.

Still, the sector isn’t dead. Some companies have survived – even thrived – by refining their technology, downsizing their ambitions, or pivoting to B2B models. [Read more…] about Top 20 vertical farming companies: Has the dream failed, or is it just changing?

Swiss Life invests €200 million into vertical farming venture with Planet Farms

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Swiss Life Asset Managers, the investment arm of Swiss Life Holding AG, has partnered with Milan-based agritech company Planet Farms to launch a new joint venture aimed at expanding vertical farming operations across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

The joint venture will receive up to €200 million ($227 million) in initial funding, with Swiss Life contributing as much as €125 million, according to a statement issued Tuesday confirming earlier reporting by Bloomberg News.

The initiative includes a flagship 20,000-square-meter vertical farm located near Como in northern Italy, which currently supplies fresh produce to supermarkets and food service providers in both Italy and Switzerland.

The partners plan to replicate the model in additional markets, including the United Kingdom and Scandinavia.

Planet Farms, founded in 2018 by Luca Travaglini and former Goldman Sachs banker Daniele Benatoff, specializes in sustainable, high-tech farming systems designed to reduce water usage and eliminate pesticides.

Guggenheim Securities served as exclusive financial advisor to Planet Farms on the transaction.

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Deere unveils new combine harvester with ‘expanded advanced automation’

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John Deere has introduced a number of enhancements that the company says farmers will find available on model year 2026 combines, including an array of “advanced automation and efficiency updates”.

The new features are focused on helping farmers harvest in more diverse conditions, requiring less operator intervention and providing more operational insights that help improve farm efficiency and productivity.

Bergen Nelson, John Deere go-to-market manager for harvesting equipment, says: “These new updates are designed with farmer input to help unlock the full potential of the John Deere combine. [Read more…] about Deere unveils new combine harvester with ‘expanded advanced automation’

The autonomous future of farm vehicles: Interview with John Deere business manager Jesse Haecker

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This article was first published on December 1, 2022, and is being republished here because of technical problems with the previous version.

John Deere is, by most accounts, the world’s largest manufacturer of agricultural machinery – tractors, combine harvesters and so on. The 185-year-old American giant generated revenues of more than $61 billion in fiscal year 2023. 

The next three companies on the list are, in order, Kubota ($15 billion revenue), CNH Industrial ($11 billion), and AGCO ($9 billion). So Deere is clearly in the lead now, but one of those three companies – CNH Industrial – may be in a good position to grow its market share going forward because it launched a quite striking looking autonomous tractor a couple of years ago.

While CNH’s machine may look too futuristic for most farms, possibly leading people to believe it won’t take off any time soon, John Deere has nonetheless responded to the whole autonomous trend by launching its own driverless tractor (pictured below), which was showcased at the recent CES event. [Read more…] about The autonomous future of farm vehicles: Interview with John Deere business manager Jesse Haecker

Aigen launches new robots for clearing weeds from farm fields

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Aigen, the agricultural technology company aiming to help reduce chemical usage through smarter farming, has unveiled its Element gen2 robot for daily weed control. (See video below.)

The company also announced a strategic partnership with Bowles Farming Company, a sixth-generation family farm in California’s Central Valley, that will see robotic crews weeding Bowles Cotton fields for the 2025 growing season, marking a significant expansion for Aigen into new crop types.

Updated based on 10,000+ hours of real-world farm experience, Element gen2 features a wider, taller design enabling operation in cotton, soy, and sugar beet fields – expanding Aigen’s addressable fields by millions of acres worldwide while helping American farmers increase yields and grow more attractive crops for export. [Read more…] about Aigen launches new robots for clearing weeds from farm fields

Robots for agriculture: Technical advances outpacing market adoption

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A new strawberry-picking robot developed in Japan is drawing global attention for its ability to autonomously harvest strawberries with minimal human intervention.

Designed by researchers at Osaka Metropolitan University, the robot combines 3D cameras, AI, and an autonomous mobility system to navigate greenhouse beds and identify ripe strawberries for harvest.

The developers claim the system can work continuously and be remotely managed via mobile devices, potentially reducing labor dependency in one of Japan’s most labor-intensive crops. [Read more…] about Robots for agriculture: Technical advances outpacing market adoption