Tortuga AgTech

As AI dominates today’s headlines, we’re excited to share our philosophy on AI in robotics in our latest blog post. We call the approach Essential AI - a specialized, dynamic, flexible, and efficient way to solve real-world, industrial-scale problems. The AI Renaissance, which generates general artificial intelligence, is here today, but we need an AI Industrial Revolution to truly automate the “dull, dirty and dangerous” tasks that underpin our society. https://lnkd.in/gpKcXq82 Special thanks to Brian Heath and Tim Brackbill for helping co-author this blog and Avidan Ross from Root Ventures and Leo Polovets from Humba Ventures for their invaluable feedback.

Happy Earth Day! 🌍 🌎 🌏 Our mission is the core of everything we do: To build a healthier society, and a thriving planet, through smarter farming. Tortuga’s robots will help farms be more sustainable and resilient by:   - Improving yield and reducing waste during harvest - addressing our massive global food waste problem - Reducing the dependency on fossil-fuel-based chemicals with tools like sterile, sustainable UV-C light treatment and target spraying - Improving food quality, prolonging shelf life, and reducing post-harvest waste with tools like better data collection and forecasting - Improving plant health through better cultivation methods, such as intelligent trimming

As this article in The Guardian points out, the effects of climate change are already here. Different controlled environment structures, such as tunnels and glasshouses, can help make farms more resilient to extreme weather events. Growing in glasshouses, our customers are off to a strong start to the season, delivering high-quality berries into the UK market. https://lnkd.in/gawk2Cyr

Need a tow? One word to describe our custom robot - robust. Here’s a fun video of our Model G robot pulling 1.5 tons at 4 mph up our warehouse ramp (5% slope, 8.75 degree incline). That’s ~3KW of output! https://lnkd.in/gaGNs3qw

Excited to be working with the Orbia team!

The current labor crisis farms face is not just about cost - it’s about availability. This WaPo article paints an in-depth portrait of the labor crisis in Mexico. While Mexico is historically known for its low-cost labor availability, it is actually facing a labor shortage as workers return to the US for work. At Tortuga, we see robotics as a crucial foundation for farms of the future, providing a base load of workers they need to harvest their crops. The Washington Post https://lnkd.in/g5kpaSZf

Strawberries again topped the USDA’s “Dirty Dozen” list -  but the future is bright with Tortuga robots! Unlike strawberries grown in the ground, the hydroponic strawberries we pick don’t require any fumigants. Our robots can treat strawberries with UV-C, which reduces the need for fungicide sprays for mildew and other diseases. They can also collect data to determine when and where pressures arise. We’re optimistic that one day soon, strawberries will no longer top this list! https://lnkd.in/gmT8tj4d

"Japan is a country of contrasts: old and new; successful and humble; high-tech and elegantly natural." In our latest blog, our CEO, Eric Adamson, shares some of what he learned from a recent trip to Japan, including its rich history in robotics, passion for strawberries, and continued investment in innovation. Thank you to Sunao Nishimura, Ash Patel and the rest of the E12 team for hosting. https://lnkd.in/gnGveXiW

Excited to be back in SF next week for #worldagritech! Our co-founder and CEO, Eric Adamson, is facilitating a roundtable on scaling up farm AI and robotics on Day 2. https://lnkd.in/gkpduV4b

Our blog is back! We are excited to share more about Tortuga's technology and our perspective on the latest in robotics, AI, building robotics companies, and many other topics. Check out our first post for an update on Tortuga and what’s happening in ag robotics in 2024. https://lnkd.in/g3bmb32Q