Ecorobotix has announced the launch of its precision sprayer, ARA, in North America, arriving first in Canada. The company has sold two machines so far directly to Delfland and Ferme Hotte & Van Winden, two of Canada’s top vegetable growers, both directly supplying to U.S. cities like New York and Boston. After only a short time of training, the ARAs are already making an impact in their fields.

“The size of ARA is perfect for our vegetable operations," says Martin Van Winden from Ferme Hotte & Van Winden. "We didn’t need to do anything but to go to the fields, fill the tanks, and start spraying. We are impressed with its speed. Being able to do such precise spraying (2.4x2.4in) at 4.7 miles/hour is just amazing. I’m already recommending some other farmers in the region to purchase their own ARA.”

Using AI technology and its unique ultra-high precision spraying system, ARA can recognize individual plants, classify them in real time and spray the weeds with a precision of 2.4x2.4in without affecting surrounding crops or soil.

“We are equally excited to begin with ARA,” says Defland co-owner Guillaume Cloutier. “We will focus on using it in our onion and lettuce fields first, then carrots, and other crops that we grow. We are very happy how the machine is simple to use, rapid, and how the cameras can detect very small weeds.”

Both companies are planning on using ARA to apply different kinds of phytosanitary products (herbicides, fungicides, and insecticides). Cloutier indicated that the savings on the use of products will allow them to pay off the ARA in one to two cropping seasons and that the benefits of use consist not only in the 70-95% phytosanitary product savings, but also an increase of crop yields thanks to the reduction of phytotoxicity and above all, the reduction of manual labor.

Ecorobotix CEO, Simon Aspinall, remarked that the arrival of the first ARA machines in North America is another great step forward for the company. The geographic expansion follows Ecorobotix’s recent $52 million funding round, part of which is planned to rapidly expand the company’s global presence, starting with the Americas.