Ekobot AB (publ) publishes official test results from the Netherlands. In collaboration with Europe’s leading agricultural research institute, Wageningen university and research, Ekobot conducted three successful field tests during the quarter. Since the 2020 season, Ekobot’s robot system performance has improved from 20% to reach 78% in 2021.
The test results show a very fast and promising development of the robot system’s efficiency. Weeding efficiency is measured as a percentage of weeds removed. The removing efficiency in Sweden during the 2020 season was just over 20%. In 2021, the system was optimized and in July 2021 reached just over 50% in Swedish cultivations and in September 2021, the system reached as high as 78% in Dutch cultivations.
– The test results from the Netherlands have been very satisfying. We got to see indicative results already in September this year, but now the official results have been published. We can state that we have managed to improve the system’s performance significantly since last summer. We are now very close to the level expected of the system to be able to operate on commercial terms – says Ekobot’s CEO Erik Jonuks
Jeroen De Bruin, researcher precision agriculture WUR, comments on Ekobot’s results.
– We evaluated the performance of Ekobot in a field of onions in Lelystad. The robot removed up to 58% of the weeds in one pass, and 78% in two passes over the same part of the field. A farmer will go through the field several times as well, therefore the numbers might already work in practice. Ekobot did not train their algorithm on conditions in the Flevopolder, so we expect improvements already when they train with data they collected in Lelystad. The tool Ekobot uses is simple, easy to replace, and is able to remove the weeds both between and in the onion row. We are looking forward to next year, when Ekobot is returning to do more tests.
Ekobot has followed the previously communicated operational plan very well in 2021. The promising test results in the Netherlands indicate that there are now very good technical conditions for starting pilot installations in commercial plantations in both Sweden and the Netherlands in 2022.
About Ekobot
Ekobot AB (publ), based in Västerås, conducts business based on the business concept of developing, manufacturing and selling autonomous agricultural robots that enable efficient precision cultivation where weed management takes place completely without or with minimal use of herbicides. The company’s vision is to provide the agricultural sector with a long-term sustainable alternative to reduce or completely eliminate chemical spraying in crops of crops for human consumption.
For more information, see Ekobot’s website www.ekobot.seAugment Partners AB, tel. +46 8 505 651 72, e-mail: info@augment.se is the Company’s Certified Adviser.