Know more

Transitioning towards agroecological practices creates a diversified need for research in the field of agricultural equipment and associated digital technologies (hardware, software) to make them compatible with new technical itineraries and to reduce the labor intensity. The aim is to adapt agricultural equipment to the constraints of agroecological systems, with changes including the use of agricultural land (e.g., hedges to promote biodiversity and limit soil erosion), cropping systems (mixed crops), and the consideration of animal welfare.

This axis aims to support projects in two domains:

Agricultural robotics, with expectations including:

• Automatic adaptation of actions to variable and changing conditions (soil, weather, interaction with living beings, agricultural operations);
• Mobile manipulation (integrated manipulator arm on an autonomous robotic platform);
• Collaboration among multiple robots to perform complex tasks;
• New approaches to locomotion (rolling, walking, crawling, air-ground cooperation) and their hybridization; 
• Maintenance of task integrity (i.e., correct execution);
• Soft robotics: robots made from flexible, elastic, or deformable materials, recycled materials, or easily recyclable materials;
• Integration of AI for detection, guidance, or control.
   

Connected livestock buildings and facilities, with expectations including:

• Development of sensors and observation systems for animal monitoring;
• Identification of animal welfare indicators and their integration into decision support tools;
• Consideration of the impact of digital technologies in the redesign of buildings and livestock systems.

Projects funded contributing to this axis:

• Research projects targeted at the start of the program:
  • NINSAR, Innovative Agroecological Routes Exploiting Collaborative Robotics ;
  • WAIT4, Artificial Intelligence and New Technologies to Evaluate Relevant Animal Welfare Indicators in the Face of Agroecological Transition Challenges