Niqo Robotics launches the Niqo RoboThinner™ in North America: A high-precision spot spray robot for lettuce thinning application

Date:09-18-2024

• Field-proven thinning accuracy of 97%

• Up to 7 acres of lettuce thinning in an hour
  

• Return on investment in under two years 
  

• Niqo RoboThinner™ debuts at FIRA 2024
  

Niqo Robotics a leading provider of AI robotics for sustainable farming, announced that it is expanding into the North American market with the launch of the Niqo RoboThinner™ to substantially improve the commercial viability of lettuce farming. 

The Niqo RoboThinner™ is an ultra-high precision spot sprayer that uses cutting-edge, real-time AI to target spray and selectively remove excess lettuce seedlings, allowing the remaining plants the space they need to grow. This is a crucial process in lettuce farming to ensure the final crop is healthy and uniform in size. 

After successfully commercializing over 100,000 acres with 50 deployed units and leading Asia in spot spray technology, Niqo Robotics is now expanding into the North America market to reduce the reliance on manual, time-consuming, and resource-intensive process with limited accuracy when farming Lettuce. Achieving optimal profitability for growers requires millimeter-level precision in lettuce thinning which current processes are unable to deliver.

Niqo RoboThinner™ offers a complete solution to current lettuce thinning challenges. Powered by the proprietary Niqo Sense™ AI camera and advanced deep learning models, it selectively targets excess seedlings, delivering a field-proven thinning accuracy of 97%.  It can precisely target plants as small as 1 inch Niqo RoboThinner™ provides exceptional time efficiency gains with the ability to thin 7 acres per hour and operate at speeds of up to 3 miles per hour. Growers adopting this technology are guaranteed a return on investment within two years. 

Niqo RoboThinner is designed to be tractor-pulled and can be retrofitted to any tractor on the market, providing growers with a seamless and hassle-free upgrade. Engineered to be versatile, it can be used on any bed configuration making it truly farm friendly.

″We are excited to enter the North American market with Niqo RoboThinner™ as our debut product. Over the past year, we've engaged with growers in the Salinas and Yuma regions, gaining insights into their key challenges. Lettuce thinning is an escalating concern, requiring a dependable and sustainable solution. Niqo’s RoboThinner™ is rugged and reliable for effortless farm operations and has been precision engineered for exceptional accuracy and speed," said Jaisimha Rao, Founder & CEO of Niqo Robotics.

Niqo RoboThinner™ will debut at FIRA 2024 in Woodlands, California, from October 22 to 24, 2024. 

About Niqo Robotics

Niqo Robotics, is a climate-smart deep tech company in agriculture, headquartered in Bengaluru, India, with a subsidiary in North America. Founded in 2015 by Carnegie Mellon alumnus Jaisimha Rao, Niqo's mission is to transform agrochemical spraying with its innovative AI-powered spot-spray technology. By promoting the adoption of sustainable spot spraying, Niqo aims to empower all stakeholders in the farming ecosystem, enhancing profits and prosperity. Niqo has raised a total of $21Mn from Fulcrum Global Capital, Bidra Innovation Ventures, Omnivore, FMC Corporation, Beenext and Blume Venture in Seed, Series A and Series B funding.