Force A is a French company that specializes in agricultural technology. In the last couple of decades, the agricultural sector has gone through some major technological changes due to the increased demand for food and the strict environmental laws. These changes have forced farmers to invest in new equipment in order to keep up with the competition. Force A develops diagnostic tools equipped with sensors that can monitor the plants in real time. For example, these tools can assess the quality of the crops and check that the chemicals used are at an acceptable level.
Besides monitoring the equipment, Force A also provides automated leaf clippers and measurement devices for regular crops as well as the wine/grape industry. Force A is also working with several European partners and a number of European universities on a project that involves the development of an agricultural robot.
This project, named CROPS, will be developed to work in the greenhouse sector where it will be able replace human work. This harvesting robot will work 24 hours per day in optimal conditions for the crops (warm and humid). It will be able to recognize a fruit in an unstructured environment and harvest only the fruit that is ready to be harvested, without damaging other plants or fruits. There is no doubt that the development of this kind of robot will be revolutionary in the agriculture sector.
