FIRA 2017 – International Forum of Agricultural Robotics

FIRA International Forum of Agricultural Robotics

After a successful first edition with over 200 participants from over 10 different countries, the FIRA International Forum of Agricultural Robotics is back! FIRA 2017 will take place in Toulouse, France on November 29^th and 30^th, 2017.

The agricultural robotics forum is organised by French farmbot specialist Naïo Technologies for the second time. The main goal of this unique event is to unite international players and experts in agricultural robotics to discuss the sector’s challenges with stakeholders from around the world: farmers, industries, researchers, institutions, media…

The event includes internationally recognized speakers, pitches from agricultural innovators, an exhibition area and demos of agricultural robots, as well as a barcamp to discuss tomorrow’s agriculture. All FIRA events are resolutely international and open to all: they will be live streamed on YouTube and available in English and French.

FIRA 2107 : 2nd edition, 3 goals!

#1 DISCOVER AGRICULTURAL INNOVATIONS

November 29, 2017: internationally recognized speakers, pitches and multiple exchanges with the public. Throughout the event, the exhibition area will also highlight the agricultural robots on display as well as the partners of this second edition.

#2 INVENT TOMORROW’S AGRICULTURE

November 30, 2017: barcamp workshop day for participants only (no visitors)! The goal is to work together on specific issues and to exchange views on agricultural robotics in order to establish a clear roadmap for the future of the sector.

#3 SHARE IDEAS AND KNOW-HOW

In order to make the event as interactive as possible, all interventions will be live streamed on YouTube. The #FIRA17 twitter hashtag will also allow followers to ask their questions directly to the speakers.

#FIRA17 and the sector of agricultural robotics

“The goal of FIRA 2017 is to lay the groundwork for the sector of agricultural robotics,” explains Gaëtan Séverac, Naïo Technologies Managing Director and FIRA organiser. “FIRA is more than just an event: it’s the perfect occasion for participants to present existing farmbot solutions but we believe the forum should also help prepare the ecosystem to solve the issues farmers are confronted with on a daily basis,” adds Aymeric Barthes, the company’s co-founder.

Even though Naïo Technologies has initiated and organised FIRA for two years now, “we simply want to stimulate the dynamics of the farmbot sector. To extend the reach of FIRA, we’d like for the event to be hosted in a different part of the world next year, preferably by a major player in agricultural robotics,” Gaëtan continues.

FIRA 2017 Exhibition Area and Speakers

The second edition of FIRA shows the event is already gaining momentum. The schedule is still in progress but FIRA 2017 already offers:

An exhibition area that shines the spotlight on a wide range of farmbots and companies that are active in the field:
- the Ecorobotix weeding robot,
- Naïo Technologies’ Oz and Dino weeding robots for produce growers as well as Ted, their vineyard robot
- the Sony CSL LettuceThink robot,
- the Tibot poultry robot,
- PowerTech Systems’ Lithium batteries,
- Vantage’s GPS RTK solutions…

Internationally recognized speakers from the world of agricultural robotics:
- Simon Blackmore (UK), Director of the Robotics Department at Harper Adams University and Director of the National Centre for Precision Agriculture,
- Philippe Jeanneaux (France), expert in Rural Economics,
- Ole Green (Denmark), CEO of Agrointelli,
- Maët Le Lan (France), Coordinator of the Experimental Station of the Morbihan Chamber of Agriculture
- Gaëtan Séverac and Aymeric Barthes (France), co-founders of Naïo Technologies

On the evening of November 29^th, there will be time for an informal meet-and-greet cocktail before the Toulouse Metropole award ceremony for the Move Your Robot 2017 contest.

November 30^th is barcamp day, with workshops on the creation of an international sector for agricultural robotics. All FIRA 2017 participants will be invited to work together to further develop the themes that were raised in 2016 and establish concrete actions for the field.