The StartUp Innovation: Vibrating poles 3-8 m long, designed for harvesting walnuts and mulberries, which grab a tree branch and vibrate it, throwing the crop into a special canvas attached to the tree.
Within the framework of the AgriThon2 we talked to Tigran Simonyan, the Coordinator of the Automation of Walnut Harvesting startup project.
Participation in the first stage of the AgriThon2 Incubation
- Thanks to participation in the first phase of the AgriThon2 Incubation, we gained important knowledge and skills, got acquainted with many other innovative ideas and startup teams, and once again enjoyed the caring attitude of the implementers of the AGRI CAMP Program, AgriThon experts and mentors.
- The point is that this is our second attempt to participate in AgriThon. Last time we failed to pass the 2nd stage of I Seeing the announcement of the competition on the FB page of the AGRI CAMP Program, we decided to try again. As a result, we were able to clarify the goals of our startup idea, focusing mainly on the harvest.
The startup is to solve the following problems:
- I have thought about this idea for a long time. For years, personally participating in walnut harvests, I had to climb a 10-meter huge walnut tree in our garden with the help of ropes, wearing a helmet, a hip belt and carrying sticks of various lengths to shake the nuts.
- As for harvesting mulberry in the traditional way, the fact that the fruit would fall to the ground and get damaged was added to the various risks associated with it.
- With this project, we offer a unique service: walnut and mulberry harvesting without climbing a tree. The 3-8m long remote-controlled vibratory poles designed for harvesting walnuts and mulberries grab the tree branch and vibrate it, throwing the crop into a special canvas. By using canvas that hug the trunk of the tree and extend beyond the leaves, damage to the harvested crop, falling to the ground and loss of fruits is almost excluded.
- In addition, thanks to the automated device offered by us, the harvesting time and human resources are reduced, as well as the risk of injuries caused by climbing a tree is reduced.
- Beneficiaries of the idea can be both sole farmers who have at least 1 walnut, almond, hazelnut, mulberry tree and average income, as well as farmers with large walnut and mulberry orchards.
Stages of the startup project implementation
- It will take about 9 months to implement the idea.
- In the first step, we plan to purchase 5 gasoline and 3 electric 3m, 4m, 5m long vibratory harvesting tools from our partners in China, on the basis of which our team’s engineers, taking into account the characteristics of the trees in our country, will develop a prototype of 3-8m remote-controlled vibratory poles.
- Starting from June 2023, we will be able to provide service to our beneficiaries through innovative automated harvesting tools, local canvases and harvesting accessories.
Team members: Tigran Simonyan (team coordinator), Ruzanna Saroyan, Samvel Andreasyan, Tsoghik Hakobyan, Rustam Martirosyan, Artak Atayan
Address of the startup activity: Kotayk marz, Abovyan enlarged community
AgriThon is a competition/platform for startup ideas with innovative solutions in the field of agriculture, implemented by the ICARE-Armenia Foundation within the framework of the USAID-funded AGRI CAMP Program.
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