Sami Robotics broccoli harvester nabs first ag tech residency at Reservoir Farms
Sami Robotics, a startup developing a robotic platform for specialty crop field tasks, has been selected to receive the first Western Growers Center for Innovation & Technology (WGCIT) residency slot at Reservoir Farms.
According to a press release from Western Growers, the Canadian startup’s initial focus will be on harvesting.
The residency will allow Sami to refine and test its technology alongside growers in real-world conditions at Reservoir’s Salinas location.
“Harvesting has long been the most challenging segment of mechanization for growers,” said Walt Duflock, SVP, Innovation at Western Growers. “We are confident that Pascal and Éric and their team at Sami Robotics will provide solutions that work, and there is no better place for them to field test their technology than at Reservoir Farms.”
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Reservoir Farms says it helps startups get to the first viable product in less time and for less capital by providing:
- shared R&D space
- shared commercially farmed field acreage
- shared equipment from partners like John Deere
- real-world grower feedback on products they are building
In May, Western Growers announced it will provide Reservoir Farms $1.5 million in partnership funding over the next three years.
“Building agricultural robots is one thing; proving they can deliver value in real field conditions is another,” said Éric Lapalme, CPO and Co-Founder of Sami Robotics. “Reservoir Farms offers an exceptional environment to test, refine and improve our platform alongside growers. The feedback we receive during this residency will be instrumental in making our technology more capable, reliable and impactful.”