Japan-based Kubota Corp., through its North American subsidiary, Kubota North America Corp., has acquired Bloomfield Robotics Inc.
Pittsburgh-based Bloomfield Robotics provides a service that monitors the health and performance of specialty crops, using advanced imaging and artificial intelligence to growers across seven countries and three continents, according to a news release.
“We are excited to announce the acquisition of Bloomfield Robotics, a natural evolution of our successful partnership through Kubota’s support of open innovation,” M. Brett McMickell, chief technology officer for Kubota North America, said in the release. “Combining AI-driven technology with our legacy quality products will enable Kubota to solve real issues facing agriculture. This acquisition is a key milestone for Kubota’s strategic vision to provide comprehensive smart agriculture solutions.”
Bloomfield’s cameras are the foundation for a new software as a service that provides plant-level health and performance assessments for growers of grapes (e.g., wine, table, and juice), blueberries and other specialty crops, the release said.
The cameras are mounted on tractors and other vehicles common to farming and allow for the capture of detailed plant-level, geo-located images of the entire farm. These images are then translated into crop data such as color, maturity, and size of the fruit using Bloomfield’s AI. The result is insights into harvest timing and yield, which enables meaningful operational efficiencies, better-timed harvests, reduced labor costs and increased asset utilization, the release said.
“The Bloomfield vision from our founding was to provide continuous plant-level knowledge to every specialty crop farmer around the world,” said Mark DeSantis, president and CEO of Bloomfield Robotics. “ This acquisition brings that vision forward at a scale and speed we could not have imagined. Fortunately, we’ve been working closely together for over two years, so we have a running start at achieving this vision. We’re truly excited for what’s to come.”
The level of mechanization and automation in specialty crop farming, such as fruits, vegetables, and tree nuts, lags advancements incorporated in the cultivation of row crops, and innovative solutions to integrate data with automated systems, operational robotics and other assets are needed, the release said. The specialty crop market overall has become a focal point of Kubota’s strategic attention and efforts to shape the future of agriculture, the company said.
