InsightTRAC Automates Time-Intensive Sanitation Problem for Almond Growers

Analysis:
The InsightTRAC Rover is a unique solution designed specifically to help almond growers solve a winter sanitation problem. Until the creation of the InsightTRAC Rover, the mummy removal process required the growers to re-shake the almond trees during a wet period after the end of the harvest, or knock the individual almond mummies from the trees by hand (a labor intensive solution).

The InsightTRAC Rover is an autonomous mobile robot with a top mounted, vision-guided pellet gun. The rover moves through the orchard, identifies mummies on the tree’s branches, and then targets and removes the mummies by hitting them with biodegradable pellets.

The solution also gathers data about every tree and makes this information available to the orchard owner.

The company plans to start with deployments in Australia in summer 2022, then move to California for the winter of 2023. These two regions are the primary market for the initial go-to-market of the solution. - Mike Oitzman