The fruit and vegetable sector represents a key economic activity across the entire Sudoe territory, standing out for its high productivity, diversification, and specialization. Furthermore, it acts as a driving activity for sustainable development in predominantly rural areas, both in terms of job creation and business and entrepreneurship opportunities. However, market globalization, increased competition, reduced profitability, as well as the lack of labor and generational replacement, constitute major challenges that condition its viability and sustainability in the medium and long term.
In this context, FRUCTHOR-IA addresses the technical, financial, and labor challenges of the fruit and vegetable sector, contributing to optimizing its competitiveness through the development of autonomous robotics solutions aimed at crop monitoring and human-robot collaborative work.
These solutions enable leveraging the potential of technological innovation to promote social and territorial cohesion, ensuring the fruit and vegetable sector’s position as a fundamental pillar of a sustainable, competitive, and inclusive economic model.
Through the analysis of the sector’s automation needs, pilot-scale demonstrations of the autonomous robotics solutions, and their transfer to the fruit and vegetable production fabric, FRUCTHOR-IA not only seeks to drive the sector’s digital transition but also to foster a permanent environment of open innovation, cooperation, and dialogue among the various actors involved.
The applied innovation focus and vocation for transfer will also be reflected in the formulation of a strategy for the financial acceptability of robotics solutions. In this area, a model will be designed for financing the investment through mutualization among owners of compatible agricultural holdings.
In conclusion, FRUCTHOR-IA not only offers an innovative response to current challenges but also defines the path toward a more efficient, sustainable, and resilient fruit and vegetable sector in the Sudoe area.
