Aspergerobot puts a stop to labor shortages

Well before the corona crisis, thought was already being given in the Netherlands to the ever-growing problem of dependence on labor in agriculture. When the virus reached our country in March, the issue proved all too urgent. When 170 thousand migrant workers come to the Netherlands every year to harvest and international travel is not possible, the need for a solution is greater than ever. In the asparagus sector, the company AvL Motion offers that solution in the form of an ingenious robot.

Attractive business case

The Volkskrant published last week the report of a visit to Neessen Aardbei- & Aspergeplanten in Grashoek. This Limburg grower is the first buyer of the asparagus robot AvL Compact S1560, made by the company AvL Motion. The machine was put to work for the first time this season on the asparagus field in Grashoek. Johan Neessen: "We choose AvL's robot because we expect that with this machine we will need less harvesting personnel, that it will produce more uniform and better quality harvested asparagus and will be cost effective, thus resulting in an attractive business case for us."

The asparagus robot is the invention of Arno van Lankveld, himself the son of an asparagus grower. "Because of my background in asparagus cultivation, I have experienced that growers are struggling more and more to attract and retain qualified personnel to harvest manually in the right way, more specifically for the white asparagus. This has been the driving force behind AvL Motion's development of an innovative, autonomous, selective asparagus harvesting robot."

Investment

Developing an asparagus robot is no small feat. It was made possible thanks to a one million euro capital injection from seed capital funds Brightlands Agrifood Fund, Future Food Fund and the Brabantse Ontwikkelings Maatschappij (BOM). This investment allowed AvL Motion to further develop and launch the robot, scale it up within the organization and expand its network.

This is what Kim de Boer, Fund Manager of the Brightlands Agrifood Fund said about it at the end of 2019: "AvL has shown in a short period of time that it is capable of developing an impressive machine, with a modest team, based on thorough knowledge of the customer's requirements and cooperation with this group. We believe this is the right time to scale up the organization." Those words proved more than true during the 2020 asparagus season, which was hampered by the coronavirus.

How it works

In the video below you can see how the robot works. The machine detects with a camera whether an asparagus head is above the ground. A sensor tells one of the knives where to cut. The robot knife goes straight to the ground next to the asparagus, cuts and lifts the stem out of the ground and via a conveyor belt ends up in a green box. Van Lankveld: "With manual cutting other asparagus are often hit below ground. Our design makes the stabbing much more precise." Priced at just under 400 thousand euros each, it is estimated to pay for itself in about four years.

Update

That the modern machine also faces modern problems is evident from the Volkskrant journalist's report. He sees the robot standing still in the field; after an update a day earlier, the machine no longer functions properly. "Asparagus growers with workers who fall ill or drop out mid-season, on the other hand, do not suffer from software problems." Fortunately, there is time until next season to fix the problem.

More robots in agriculture

The AvL Compact S1560 is not the only asparagus robot on the market. Asparagus grower Teboza in Helden works with the asparagus robot Sparter from the company Cerescon. We also see robots taking over the work of people in other crops in agriculture. Previously we saw examples such as the robot that counts ripe peppers, and the blueberry picker. Especially in greenhouse farming, a lot of technology is already being used. Since the corona crisis more and more farmers are looking for mechanization as a replacement of human labor. LTO Netherlands also advocates "a second round of mechanization and robotization" to reduce the dependence on labor in the sector, according to the Election Manifesto published this month.

AvL Motion's future plans are to see five machines drive autonomously across asparagus fields next year and then double that number every year after that. And it may not stop at asparagus. "The patented technology that brings about the robot moving and harvesting at a speed not seen before is not only suitable for white asparagus, but also for other crops that are selectively harvested, such as green asparagus and zucchini," says Jeroen Kimmels, partner at Future Food Fund.

Source: Volkskrant and Brightlands Venture Partners