Ecorobotix

Ecorobotix is a Swiss company that builds AI-driven field sprayers for precision agriculture. Its ARA sprayer uses software to tell crops from weeds, so it treats only the plants that need it. The company is based in Yverdon-les-Bains, Switzerland, and sells to growers through local retailers and distributors. Its site describes a model that cuts plant protection product use while keeping crop and soil health.

Robots and spraying

The core product is the ARA sprayer, which uses what the company calls ultra-high precision (UHP) spraying technology. Ecorobotix says growers can cut plant protection product use by up to 95%. Its plant-by-plant detection runs on algorithm-based software that scans, detects and treats crops or weeds in the field. The company also presents the system as a way to lower labour costs. A French cooperative quoted on the site reports that more than 100 hectares of beans were weeded at 7 km/h.

Where its sprayers work

• Field crops: ARA sprayers are used on broadacre farms, with case studies from Ukraine and France.
• Vegetables: the site describes an Australian vegetable grower that weeds with an ARA sprayer.
• Distribution: a first distributor in Brazil has been announced.
• Manufacturing: the company has announced plans to assemble ARA in Kansas, USA.

Results and research

Case studies on the site include a Ukrainian broadacre farm that manages weeds field by field, and a French trial in which an ARA sprayer controlled rumex in Haute-Savoie. The company also writes about bioherbicides used with ultra-high precision spraying. Growers who want a demonstration or wish to place an order are directed to a retailer in their area.

Key facts

• Based in: Yverdon-les-Bains, Switzerland
• Products: ARA sprayer, UHP precision spraying
• Markets: Europe, Australia, Brazil and the United States, according to the site's news items