The technology provides safe, reliable, AI-enabled coordination of fleet-scale navigation solutions for any robot platform with on-the-go environment mapping. It can operate where GPS, connectivity and environmental predictability is inconsistent.
JABAS.AI is a spinout from Ceres Agri-Tech, a partnership between the universities of Lincoln, Cambridge and East Anglia, funded by Research England and EPSRC, which is translating world leading UK university science into tangible solutions for farmers with a pipeline of over 55 agri-tech innovations with global potential.
Robotics adoption in the agricultural sector has been limited due to the lack of reliable autonomy in real farm conditions. Furthermore, conventional GPS waypoint navigation does not work properly under canopy, in polytunnels or near structures.
The JABAS.AI platform moves away from GPS technology and instead uses a combination of lidar, computer vision and advanced localisation algorithms for optimal route selection. The technology can be integrated into any robot platform providing “autonomy-as-a-service”, reducing the need for regular human intervention and pre-deployment setup.
JABAS.AI is the latest spin-out in the Ceres Agri-Tech portfolio, which has a pipeline of over 55 agri-tech innovations with global potential and has launched five spin-outs to date. Together, the companies have created 34 high-value jobs in the rural sector and are developing innovative solutions for critical challenges for farmers, such as intelligent robotic mushroom harvesting (Agaricus Robotics), AI-enabled decision support and fruit forecasting (Fruitcast) and chemistry solutions to improve water resistance and other properties of fibres and fabrics, removing forever chemicals from industrial applications (Cellexcel).
One of the critical challenges the Ceres Agri-Tech spin-out JABAS.AI helps to solve is the acute labour constraints in horticulture, which directly impact productivity and food security. 15 to 20 % of time on soft fruit farms is spent moving trays of picked fruit. The JABAS.AI platform allows any agri-robot to navigate safely, locate workers and collect harvested fruit, reducing physical strain and helping to maintain effective picking.
“I am delighted that JABAS.AI is tackling the critical bottleneck to unlocking the use of robots on farm. With this new autonomy, robotic fruit logistics in unstructured farm environments is now possible, helping to alleviate the labour crisis and drive productivity at scale."
Professor Marc Hanheide, Founder and Chief Technology Officer at JABAS.AI and Professor of Intelligent Robotics and Interactive Systems at University of Lincoln said:
“Our mission at JABAS.AI is to make advanced autonomy work reliably on farms, under real operating conditions which are inherently unpredictable. Ceres Agri-Tech has played a critical role in shaping that mission – from validating the technology with growers to helping us build a business model that scales. Their support has ensured our autonomy platform delivers tangible benefits for farmers, improving productivity while reducing the physical burden on workers.”
Professor Simon Pearson, Founder and Director of Lincoln Institute for Agri-Food Technology (LIAT) said:
“JABAS.AI is a strong example of how world leading research at the University of Lincoln can be translated into technologies that deliver effective solutions for agriculture. Through the Lincoln Institute for Agri-Food Technology, we have been able to develop, test and validate advanced autonomy in the environments where it will ultimately be used. Working with Ceres Agri-Tech has ensured that this innovation is not only technically excellent but has a clear pathway to commercial deployment and global relevance.”
JABAS.AI has been incorporated in Lincolnshire and has now secured pre-seed investment. It is working with six commercial operators supporting autonomous navigation testing and trials. Ceres Agri-Tech has supported the development of the technology with a coordinated and impact-driven translation pathway; funding projects that move this technology from an advanced research prototype to a commercially deployable autonomy stack, facilitating direct engagement with growers and robotic original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), supporting on-farm trials as well as team development and company formation.
Tags: agri-tech, AI, artificial intelligence, computer vision, Lidar, robotics
