Tech Companies Partner on New Innovative Growing Platform

By Ecoation|November 28, 2020

Ecoation Innovative Solutions Inc., a provider of data-driven grower assist technology, and Kinova, a Canadian-based global leader in professional robotics, have announced a new collaboration. By adding robotic grasping capabilities to Ecoation’s grower assist platform, the two companies aim to enable real-time identification and treatment of pest and disease risks in greenhouses globally.

With an initial focus on closed-loop and automated integrated pest management (IPM) strategies, specifically surgical treatment application to targeted areas of the canopy and autonomous biological control distribution, the partnership is designed to bring the best of each company’s capabilities to the market as a commercial crop monitoring and management package.

“Kinova is a leader in robotic arm development with impressive and robust products that have been deployed commercially for many years in the global market,” says Ecoation Founder and CEO, Dr. Saber Miresmailli. “What excites me the most is the fact that through this partnership, two leading Canadian companies are joining forces to tackle important and timely issues that are impacting humanity globally: food security and farm labor shortages. Combining the ecoation AI/IA Human+Machine platform with Kinova’s robotic arm will not only allow the Canadian duo to detect, diagnose, and report problems, but also help them to treat the issue using the proper solution with surgical precision.”

“We are proud to collaborate with ecoation, another Canadian industry-leading company, in this adventure to take on one of our generation’s biggest challenges; increase food production amidst labor shortage and climate change,” says François Boucher, VP Sales and Marketing at Kinova. “We are confident that ecoation’s AI/IA Human+Machine platform, combined with Kinova’s Gen3 modular and ultra-lightweight robotic arm, will prove as a powerful tool for food growers around the world.”