Italian robotics expertise seen to help drive Qatari innovation in agriculture sector

Bologna, Italy: Italy’s cutting edge technologies in the field of robotics is seen to play a key role in driving innovation in Qatar’s agriculture sector, a professor from the University of Bologna has said.According to Lorenzo Marconi, Italy and Qatar will benefit from the sharing of best practices and expertise, as well as in research and development (R&D), especially between universities from both nations. Marconi, who is also the co-founder of Italian company FieldRobotics, made the statement on the sidelines of EIMA International 2024, which will run until November 10 at the Bologna Exhibition Centre.Marconi and his team are participating at EIMA to showcase the ‘HammerHead’, an autonomous ground rover vehicle designed for agricultural applications in orchards, vineyards, and even in remote environments with poor GPS signals.The HammerHead made its debut in Qatar in early 2024 during the ‘International Horticultural Expo 2023 Doha Qatar’, where Marconi showcased the revolutionary autonomous field robot’s versatile applications in agriculture and its potential uses in other industries.Asked about potential collaboration between FieldRobotics and Qatar’s private sector and the academe, Marconi said: "I absolutely see a future in strong synergy with the University of Bologna and universities abroad."That is just the first step because there is a need to keep building applications, sensors, algorithms, and other implements. And all that kind of improvement needs formation, training, and support from the universities and research centres. So, it’s very important to have a tight connection between them,” Marconi told Gulf Times.When the HammerHead showcased its capabilities at the Expo 2023 Doha, it was still a prototype, Marconi explained. He noted that the robot underwent further improvements in the production line, as well as certifications in safety, making it a reliable industrial product.Marconi pointed out that the HammerHead is like a small tractor, where its users could attach or plug any kind of conventional or even futuristic implements aimed at bringing robotics and industrial automation into the field, and not only in indoor settings. The company has placed a lot of emphasis and attempts in creating a platform that is reliable, robust, and attractive to enable all these technologies outdoors, Marconi said.The HammerHead is equipped with AI algorithms, cameras, laser scanners, and sensor fusion for robust environmental mapping and precise autonomous navigation, said Marconi, further describing it as a "perfect example of a mechatronics system.”With the latest improvements to the HammerHead, Marconi said the robot has been integrated with implements for mechanical weeding, spraying, trimming, data harvesting, and other elaborations, among other features.To adapt to Qatar’s desert climate, the HammerHead can be equipped with many other implements for soil management, data harvesting, and the counting of fruit or canopy density, as well as in managing irrigation, treatments, and soil management, among other applications."For the robot’s applications in Qatar, we can put many other implements on board...if ever resources are not enough or must be managed in a precise way, this is a machine that can enable these kinds of solutions,” Marconi pointed out.He also said, "The HammerHead is equipped with certain thermal sensors, which could detect if certain parts of the plant are experiencing water shortage or not, which helps in managing resources that are limited, like water, in a very smart way."It can also detect the density of the canopy. This information will enable the sprayer to spray in a very surgical and precise way without wasting chemical products. This machine helps avoid chemicals for the anti-weeding because it makes mechanical weeding into a specific weeding. This machine has a big computer on board and could be equipped with any kind of intelligence that you can imagine.”Asked about the company’s plans to expand its footprint in markets like Qatar, Marconi said the company’s market strategy for 2025 is to expand the platform in Italy and to identify international partners abroad, such as Qatar.