Agricultural robotics firm secures £1m funding

The £1 million-plus package combines investment from British Design Fund (BDF), with support from Innovate UK Growth Catalyst – Investor Partnerships Round 2 and additional Defra Farming Innovation Programme grants.

The University of Essex spin-out’s pioneering agricultural robots combine artificial intelligence, machine vision, embedded intelligence and advanced robotic manipulation to automate labour intensive harvesting and crop-handling tasks. The technology has been validated through extensive field trials with leading UK growers including Wilkin & Sons of Tiptree and JEPCO.

The funding will support product development, manufacturing readiness, customer engagement and commercial expansion of the company's next generation of low-cost, field-ready robotic systems. Versatile RobotX was founded by Professor Klaus McDonald-Maier and Dr Vishwanathan Mohan.

Professor Klaus McDonald-Maier, chief executive officer of Versatile RobotX and head of the Robotics and Embedded Systems Research Group at the University of Essex, said: “Securing more than £1 million in combined investment and innovation support is a major milestone for Versatile RobotX. It reflects the confidence that investors, Innovate UK, Defra, Freeport East and the University of Essex have shown in our vision.

“Agriculture faces unprecedented challenges around labour availability, food security and sustainability. This funding will allow us to accelerate the transition from successful field trials to commercial deployment, as we aim to make advanced robotics affordable and accessible to growers worldwide.”

Dr Vishwanathan Mohan, chief technology officer of Versatile RobotX and head of the AgriRobotics Laboratory at the University of Essex, said: “Working closely with growers, we have demonstrated that advanced agricultural robotics can deliver real-world impact, helping tackle the challenges that matter most to farmers.

“Growers consistently tell us that affordability, reliability and ease of deployment are key barriers to automation. This funding package will help us scale manufacturing readiness, strengthen customer engagement and demonstrate how Robotics-as-a-Service can provide a practical route to adoption for farms of all sizes.

"It will also allow us to expand our portfolio of multifunctional robotic systems and accelerate deployment across a wider range of crops and agricultural settings.”

Versatile RobotX has been supported by University of Essex Enterprise which supports technology transfer by its academics with this funding building on a strong track record of support from Defra, Innovate UK, EPSRC and Freeport East, which has helped the company progress from research prototypes to commercially deployable robotic systems.

versatilerobotx.com