Growers want to see whether automation works reliably between real plants
Biological crop protection requires accuracy, repetition and timing. At the same time, greenhouse horticulture is under pressure from labour shortages, rising costs and the need for reliable processes. That is why the development of robotics alone is not enough. The real question is whether the technology works in an operational greenhouse. At Tomatoworld in Honselersdijk, the Automated Card Hanging System was recently validated within the RoboCrops programme of NXTGEN Hightech. The pilot provides insight into how robotics and vision technology can make biological crop protection more accurate, repeatable and practical to apply.
A manual task is tested as an autonomous greenhouse process
During the practical test, the robot moved autonomously through the crop and placed En-Strip cards with parasitic wasp pupae at plant level. The cards were positioned using vision technology and a controlled robotic arm. This means that an existing manual task was not tested separately from practice, but translated into an autonomous process within the greenhouse environment that growers work in every day.
“This validation shows how robotics can support and scale up biological crop protection in practice.”
The value is not in automation by itself. For growers and cultivation managers, the key question is whether biological control can remain accurate, repeatable and easy to apply on a larger scale. That is why the pilot focused on precision, positioning, reliability and applicability in daily greenhouse practice.
Practical validation shows what already works and what still needs to be improved
After earlier tests in a controlled environment, the validation at Tomatoworld was an important next step. In a practical greenhouse, technology has to deal with real plants, greenhouse paths, crop structures and work processes. This creates insights that do not become fully visible in a laboratory or test setup.
For technology companies and developers, this step is just as important as it is for growers. The greenhouse environment helps assess whether autonomous systems fit within existing cultivation processes, how reliable the positioning is and what further development is still needed. The results and next steps are currently being jointly evaluated by Octiva, RoboHouse, Tomatoworld and Koppert Biological Systems.
Fieldlabs make improvement under greenhouse conditions tangible
The Tomatoworld fieldlab offers an environment where innovations can be tested under realistic greenhouse conditions. This makes the location valuable within the Handsfree Agrifood ecosystem, where technology companies, researchers, fieldlabs and practical partners work together on autonomous and data-driven applications in the agrifood sector.
“The Tomatoworld fieldlab makes it possible to test innovations directly under realistic greenhouse conditions.”
Within NXTGEN Hightech Agrifood, this collaboration is about practical improvement. The pilot shows how a specific work process in biological crop protection can be set up more accurately and consistently. This makes it more than a standalone experiment. It is a practical step in which partners test what works, what still needs attention and what is needed for further application.
Consistent work may require different skills in the greenhouse
As manual tasks become more automated, the role of employees may also change. There may be less focus on repeating the same physical task, while monitoring, managing and optimising autonomous systems becomes more important. For companies, this can contribute to a more efficient use of staff and a more consistent execution of biological control.
This shift requires confidence in data, systems and practical validation. A robot that can position cards at plant level only becomes relevant when employees and companies understand how the system fits into their cultivation strategy and daily planning. That is exactly why validation in an operational greenhouse environment is a necessary intermediate step.
Every practical step makes autonomous greenhouse horticulture more tangible
The validation of the Automated Card Hanging System fits within the objectives of NXTGEN Hightech and the Handsfree Agrifood ecosystem. Autonomous technology is advanced by testing it against concrete practical questions, such as labour, precision and applicability within biological crop protection.
In this way, the pilot contributes to better control in the greenhouse and across the wider agrifood chain. The insights gained help the partners determine which next steps are needed for further development and application. This makes Handsfree Agrifood tangible through practical steps that test what works, what still needs attention and what the logical next step should be.