ACRE, agricultural robots in competition
The second edition of the event reserved for highly automated mechanical vehicles takes place at the end of May. Organised by the AIRLab of the Politecnico and the Department of Agricultural Sciences of Milan, in partnership with FederUnacoma and open to the public, the event includes a competition of skill among robot models, and an exhibition of the most innovative technologies
On 23 February, an interesting workshop on the new frontiers of agriculture was held online, during which the second edition of the ACRE competition (Agri-food Competition for Robot Evaluation) was officially presented. The competition is funded by the European Commission as part of the Horizon 2020 'METRICS' project, with the primary aim of increasing the spread of robots and artificial intelligence techniques in agriculture.
The competition, organised on the Italian side by AIRlab, the Artificial Intelligence and Robotics laboratory of the Milan Polytechnic, and the Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences of the University of Milan, with the collaboration of FederUnacoma and with support of Informatore Agrario among the sector publisher, will take place on 25 and 26 May at the 'Cascina Baciocca' experimental farm of the University of Milan, located in Cornaredo (MI).
Like in the first edition, held last year in France, teams from all over the world can take part in the campaign in the field, with various 'trials' focusing on different tasks to be performed by robots, with a particular focus on open field weeding. The robots will have to compete in specific trials, such as discriminating weed recognition from the current crop, the ability to move autonomously in the field, the ability to estimate the actual leaf area of the current crop or the amount of biomass in the field, as well as the ability to create a digital map of the current crop and the weeds. Finally, the machines will be able to compete in carrying out actual weed control, even along the cultivated row, without damaging the crops, considering that in the competition the robot models will be able to take part in all or just some of the trials. Finally, the performance of the 'competitors' will be evaluated according to strict scientific criteria, pre-defined by the organisers, in order to measure performance in an objective and repeatable manner.
Although the competition will feature robots built by companies linked to the academic world in various ways, the organisers nevertheless plan to combine the competition with a kind of exhibition of 'smart' solutions for agriculture, so as to involve the broadest possible range of private companies active in the world of robotics, as well as manufacturers of equipment and services for agriculture characterised by advanced technological and digital content.
The aim of the event is to bring the world of the Italian agricultural machinery industry closer to that of expert researchers in the field of robotics and artificial intelligence, with the aim of creating solid partnerships that will make it possible in the near future to bridge the gap that currently exists in terms of agricultural robotics between the European industry and that of the United States, and similarly between the Italian industry and that of various European countries, such as France and Holland.
Precisely in order to increase the interest of companies in the initiative, for the Italian edition there will be the possibility for participants in the competition to add a horticultural crop in addition to the crops already used in the previous edition (green beans and maize), while for those who simply wish to exhibit, the organisers will evaluate the possibility of preparing ad hoc demonstration plots, either simply worked (i.e. without crops in place) or committed with specific crops.
The event organisers are aiming for success in terms of exhibitors and the public, also considering the fact that access to the event will be free for both exhibitors and visitors, and also expect good coverage by the media, which are increasingly interested in robotics and the most advanced technological solutions for the agricultural sector. Participation will also be extended to all Italian agricultural technical and professional institutes.
