AI-Based Greenhouse Crop Management System Earns National Support
The Canadian government has invested more than $10 million in ecoation and its Human+Machine AI and Robotics Platform to help globally scale ecoation offerings and services.
Built on more than a decade of R&D and field trials, ecoation has developed a remote crop management and grower assist platform that uses artificial intelligence and robotics for three important pillars of activities in the greenhouse: Integrated pest management, yield assessment, and crop work quality check. The service package includes all the hardware, network, and technology necessary to perform automated tasks and digitization of data. It also includes at least one hour per week of consultation and analytics to ensure farmers and growers meet their objectives per their data collection and farm digitization strategy.
Ecoation has robots active in farms across Canada, the U.S., Mexico, and Europe, and it is in the process of launching its platform in geographies as far as Russia, China, Japan, and Australia. While the initial target of the company is high-tech greenhouses with pipe rails, ecoation has developed product lines that can be used in mid-tech and low-tech greenhouses without pipe rails. This comprehensive offering accelerated the rate of technology adoption.
“It’s more important than ever for our farmers to have access to cutting-edge technology,” says The Honorable Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Environment and Climate Change. “Support from the Government of Canada will help to ensure growers are able to make more informed decisions on how to best manage their crops, leading to more efficient pesticide use and stronger yields. Projects like these are important to the agri-tech sector, as they help increase economic prosperity and keep the sector competitive for future generations to come. Ecoation’s technology contributes major strides towards securing more consistent crop yields and tackling the prevalent horticulture labor shortage.”
Ecoation recently secured private sector funding to match the government investment. The company is expanding its operations in Ontario and growing its team globally.
“Data-driven decision making based on live field data makes a significant difference in how farms and greenhouses manage their operations,” says Ecoation founder and CEO Dr. Saber Miresmailli. “After a decade of research and development, we narrowed down the dynamic data collection to those that can truly help growers fulfill their operational strategical goals. We developed a platform that presents these data sets and analytics as actionable intelligence.”
Learn more here.
Subscribe to eNewsletter
