ROBOTICS AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN AGRICULTURE: ISRAEL LEADS THE NEXT BREAKTHROUGH

Robotic Perception was established to address the escalating workforce crisis in agriculture. It was founded some six years ago by Dr. Yoav Banitt, its CEO and owner, who recognized the need for technological solutions to offset this ominous shortage. Today, incorporating cutting-edge technologies and artificial intelligence, the company offers some of the world's most advanced agricultural solutions.
"The most urgent challenge in agriculture today, in Israel and worldwide, is the shortage of labor," explains Banitt. "It's a major issue in both Europe and the US, and it's getting worse. Robotic Perception introduces robotics into the agricultural sector. Founded in Israel, it specializes in creating smart, AI-powered solutions for spraying, pruning, monitoring, autonomous navigation and more."

Orchard and vineyard operations are Robotic Perception's primary focus. While it continues growing its presence in Israel and beyond, the bulk of its sales are in European markets, with its core team of seven — mainly engineers and software developers — behind some of the world's most advanced agricultural technologies.

Smart, Cost-Effective and Easy to Use
The company's unique AI-driven robots dramatically reduce the need for manual labor while upgrading operational efficiency, performing tasks far more precisely, reducing water consumption and minimizing use of toxic chemicals. A user-friendly mobile app allows the robots to be easily programmed and controlled by farmers. The software also provides real-time analytics to manage crop yields throughout the season.

Core Solutions for Orchard and Vineyard Owners
Banitt outlines the company's three flagship solutions for orchard and vineyard owners. The first is autonomous AI-based pruning.
"Many types of trees require pruning at the end of the growing season," he explains. "Pruning is a skilled task, which requires knowledge, expertise and training. Robotic Perception has developed a first-of-its-kind pruning robot that uses a camera and AI to analyze trees in real time and identify which branches to trim. With each robot performing the work of at least four human laborers, this is the company's leading product."

A second key product is its robotic precision sprayer, that is using a patented Ultra-Low-Volume spraying method to inject chemicals directly into the trees. Significantly reducing chemical usage, it minimizes drift and soil contamination, as well as substantially cutting operational costs for farmers.
The third product is yield estimation and crop management services. Cameras gather Information about fruit quantity and tree health in vineyards and orchards, forecast the season's expected yield. With the data they gather continuously updating throughout the growing season, farmers can better plan their harvest volumes and revenue. All the information is stored in the cloud and can be accessed via mobile devices.

Global Recognition and a US Patent
The company's robotic sprayer, developed with support from Horizon Europe and in collaboration with Israel's Innovation Authority, has recently received patent approval in the United States. According to Banitt, the robot is already in high demand in Italy and Israel, and interest continues to grow. An agreement with with leading giant global wine producers and tractor manufacturers, has recently been signed with the company.

"Our innovations are bringing agriculture closer to the standards of automated production lines, and this is being internationally recognized," says Banitt.

Challenges for a Seasonal Industry
The company's major hurdle is agriculture's seasonal nature, which slows product testing and adoption. "Unlike tech products, which can be tested and used all year round, agricultural tools can only be evaluated during a limited window, typically three to five months a year," explains Banitt. "Farmers often want to test a system for a season before committing to buy it, which significantly slows our sales pace."
For this reason, Robotic Perception is now expanding into southern hemisphere markets, whose growing seasons offset those of the north, allowing for year-round product demonstration and development.

Looking Ahead: The Future of Precision Agriculture
"We have excellent and exceptional products and are always open to ideas, but we're not developing anything new at the moment," says Banitt. "We're concentrating on market expansion — seeing strong interest from Spain, France and Italy, and working to enter the Canadian market."
Despite the complexities of scaling agricultural robotics, Banitt is confident that this is agriculture's future. "Slowly but surely, agriculture is becoming automated, intelligent and precise," he says. "The entire industry will move toward unique, advanced solutions like ours. It's my firm belief that in 10 to 20 years, vineyards and orchards will resemble industrial production lines. This is the future. There's no other way that agriculture can be sustainable."

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