The Second Agricultural Robotics Innovation Conference was Successfully Held

On October 18, The Second Agricultural Robotics Innovation Conference was held at Qingshanhu Sci-Tech City in Hangzhou, China. The conference was for propelling international agricultural robotics from technological innovation to industrial application. Bringing together distinguished guests from around the world, it served as a platform to jointly explore development pathways and collaborative ecosystems through which agricultural robotics can empower modern agriculture and accelerate the formation of new quality agricultural productive forces.

This conference was jointly hosted by the International Alliance of Robotics Associations(IARA) and Zhejiang A&F University. It was organized by the Hangzhou Digital Economy Federation, Hangzhou Automation Technology Institute (HATI), IARA (Hangzhou) Robotics Co, Ltd. (IARA Headquarters operation company), and the Digital Rural Research Institute of Zhejiang A&F University, with support from the Qingshanhu Sci-Tech City Management Committee, and the Zhejiang Digital Rural Development Alliance.

Wang Xiaobing, Director of the Information Center of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Luo Jianmin, Director of the Animal Husbandry and Agricultural Machinery Development Center of the Zhejiang Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Xu Aijun, Vice President of Zhejiang A&F University, Xu Wenbo, Deputy Director of the Hangzhou Agriculture and Rural Affairs Bureau, Sun Kuifa, Director of the Agricultural Machinery and Digitalization Division of the Zhejiang Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, as well as experts from 14 countries including the United States, Russia, Spain, Israel, Finland, and Malaysia in the field of agricultural robots were present at the event.

The opening ceremony was chaired by Xu Chi, CEO of IARA Headquarters operation company, President of HATI, and President of Hangzhou Digital Economy Federation.

Andra Keay, Managing Director of Silicon Valley Robotics and Secretary-General of IARA, delivered the opening address. She emphasized that, given the vast potential market for agricultural robotics at its current stage, accelerating the development and application of agricultural robotic technologies to fully address the practical needs of agricultural production has become a key priority for relevant efforts worldwide.

Subsequently, Xu Aijun and Luo Jianmin extend a warm welcome to the guests from the globe who have come to this grand event, and specifically put forward practical demands for comprehensively improving the total factor productivity of agriculture and enhancing the efficiency of agricultural and rural management and services from multiple perspectives such as deepening university-enterprise cooperation, accelerating industrial implementation, and cultivating application scenarios.

At the conference, the “Agricultural Robotics Collaborative Ecosystem Partnership Action Plan” was announced. The launch ceremony was successfully held, marking the collaboration of government, industry, academia, research, and application sectors to break through industry barriers. Through jointly tackling technological challenges, co-establishing industry standards, and sharing data resources, they aim to accelerate the construction of an open, cooperative, and win-win agricultural robot industry ecosystem. 

The keynote session was chaired by Prof. Xia Fang, Executive Director of the International Agricultural Robotics Innovation Center and Deputy Director of the Digital Rural Research Institute at Zhejiang A&F University.

Wang Xiaobing, delivered the speech titled “Vigorously Developing Smart Agriculture to Accelerate the Formation of Agricultural New Quality Productive Forces.” He systematically expounded on the connotation of new agricultural productivity and smart agriculture, pointed out the strategic positioning of smart agriculture as a key focus for cultivating new agricultural productivity, and shared the latest progress and critical measures in the development of smart agriculture, indicating the direction for the next steps in the national development of smart agriculture.

Subsequently, the conference featured insightful presentations from three distinguished experts: He Yong, Director of the Digital Agriculture and Rural Development Research Center at Zhejiang University, who delivered an analysis on “Current Status and Prospects of Low-Altitude Economy Applications in Agriculture”, Yu Guohong, Director of the ‌Agricultural Equipment Research Institute of Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences‌, who shared his perspectives on “Development Pathways and Practical Considerations for Agricultural Robotics in Hilly and Mountainous Areas”, and Liu Jizhan, Director of the Artificial Intelligence and Agricultural Robotics Professional Committee of the Chinese Society of Agricultural Engineering, who delivered a presentation entitled “Global Industrial Demands and Technological Trends in Fruit and Vegetable Harvesting Robots”.

Dr. Tatiana Reshetnikova, Director of the Agricultural Digitalization/Robotization Project at Innopolis University (Russia), Mr. Pablo Francisco Viñas, Vice President of Hisparob, and Dr. Efi Vitzrabin, Advisor to the Israeli Intelligent Robotics Center, delivered the keynote presentation titled “Current State of the Agricultural Industry in Russia and Prospects for the Use of Robotics: Pathways for Collaboration.”, “Smart Fields, Sustainable Futures: The Path of Agricultural Robots in Spain” and “Robotic Weeds Removal - Different Methods Comparison and What the Future Holds” respectively.

The subsequent panel discussion was moderated by Prof. Ye Hongbao, Deputy Director of the Intelligent Equipment Research Institute at the Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences. Centered on the theme “From Laboratory to Field: The ‘Last Mile’ advancement path and Collaborative Ecosystem of Agricultural Robots,” six senior industry experts including Mei Kai, Deputy Director of the Agricultural Mechanization and Digitalization Division, Hangzhou Agriculture and Rural Affairs Bureau, Ni Zhongjin, Head of Agricultural Engineering/Mechanical Engineering, Zhejiang A&F University, Yosi Lahad, Chairman of the Israeli Intelligent Robotics Center, Wendy Cheng, Vice Chairman of the Investment Committee of the International Alliance of Robotics Associations, Lyu Ping, Chairman of Zhejiang Daoji Agricultural Technology Co., Ltd. and Duangmu Qunfan, General Manager of Zhejiang Fengshan Cow Breeding Co., Ltd. participated in a pragmatic and constructive discussion. They focused on how to address core bottlenecks such as technology research and development, and practical application, and engaged in practical and constructive discussions around real-world challenges like scenario adaptation, cost control, reliability verification, and user acceptance. This has gathered cutting-edge wisdom and feasible solutions to accelerate the practical application of international agricultural robots and truly serve the frontlines of agricultural production. At the same time, it also called for more domestic and international research institutions and companies to join hands and work together to solve the "last mile" challenge of agricultural robots.

This conference covers a comprehensive discussion from macro policies, technology trends to specific application cases in various industry sectors, promoting the connection and collaboration among all links in the industrial chain. It plays a significant role in enhancing international project cooperation, reducing the cost of innovative achievement transformation, and improving the efficiency of technology implementation. It will also have a positive impact on leading industry technological innovation, deepening industrial applications, and building a sustainable collaborative development ecosystem in the global agricultural robotics field.