Eggrybot Co., Ltd. (CEO Park Seon-ho) will hold the ‘7 Agri & Food Tech Start-up Rising Expo’ held at COEX Hall A in Seoul for three days from Wednesday, July 26th to Friday, July 28th. 3).
Eggribot is a company that aims to unmanned agriculture, and is developing automated agricultural machinery especially suitable for Korean agriculture. We are focusing on developing automatic agricultural machinery that can dramatically reduce agricultural labor, and our goal is to implement an unmanned farm system ranging from electric workbenches to unmanned electric guided vehicles and transportation systems, as well as harvest robots. .
This exhibition will mainly showcase the ‘Farm Board’, an electric agricultural workbench launched in 2022, and the unmanned electric transport vehicle ‘Farm Porter’, which will be newly launched this year.
The Farm Porter is an electric vehicle that uses greenhouse pipes, commonly used in agricultural fields, as rails to automatically transport cargo along a set work section. Eggribot cited the implementation of unmanned transport function at a reasonable price as the biggest advantage of the equipment. Unmanned driving was realized without the need for expensive equipment required for autonomous driving by recognizing and moving single-line pipe rails in line with the characteristics of agricultural fields that repeatedly move through designated sections.
Convenience has been increased by allowing farmers to install pipes used for general purposes directly without floor construction. Another strength is that it is easy to use as it is operated with a simple operation method. It was developed to be suitable for orchards and fruit and vegetable farming, and can also be used in livestock farms. The minimum turning radius is 80cm, and the official explains that if the size of the product is adjusted to suit the purpose, it can be used in facility houses.
It can carry 100kg of cargo and has a safety device that automatically stops in the event of an obstacle or abnormal operation. In addition, it can be used as a general electric transport vehicle in places where there are no rails, the speed can be adjusted, and the automatic pest control device can be placed on the loading dock and used as an unmanned pest control device.
An Eggrybot official said, “While planning the movement method for the robot we would like to develop in the future, we first specified a low-cost, realistic driving method through the Palm Porter. “We also recognized the need for the product during consultations with farmers at citrus farms in Jeju Island and tomato farms in Gyeongsang Province in 2022,” he said. “In line with the purpose of Eggribot, which develops products to reduce agricultural labor, it is important to unmanned agricultural transportation work.” “We decided that it would be a great help in reducing labor costs,” he explained the background to the product development.
Farmporter, an unmanned agricultural vehicle, has currently been developed as a prototype and has not yet been commercialized, but product sales consultations are in progress. Regarding this, an official said, “The Palm Porter is a simple function, but it is an efficient and essential product, so we expect a positive response once commercial sales begin. “Commercial products are scheduled to be introduced at the International Agricultural Expo to be held in October.”
He continued, “Based on the Farm Porter being released this time, we will develop an on-farm transportation system and management algorithm for complete unmanned operation, and develop an automatic agricultural management device that implements functions such as automatic pest control, weeding, and monitoring that can be used in smart farms.” It was elaborate.
Future business plans were also announced. An official said, “Most of the foreign products introduced in Korea are expensive equipment used in large-scale farms. “We plan to change our direction and widely distribute products with good cost-effectiveness targeting small and medium-sized farmers,” he said. “In the future, we will also export to farmers in Southeast Asian countries and Europe who operate small and medium-sized intensive facilities or open-field farming similar to Korea.” “We will explore it,” he said.
Meanwhile, at AFRO 2023, the largest Agtech & Foodtech event in Korea, domestic startups with global growth potential in Agtech, Foodtech, and Green Bio will exhibit products and services to solve various problems in the agriculture and food industries, Various programs such as conferences discussing the present and future of Agtech and Foodtech and investment briefings (IR competitions) are held. This exhibition is hosted by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and supervised by the Korea Agricultural Technology Promotion Agency, NH Nonghyup, COEX, and the Korea Food Tech Council.