24 TECHNOLOGY @ AGROBiz | July-August. 2025
24 TECHNOLOGY @ AGROBiz | July-August. 2025
Laser-guided planting
• LIDAR, which uses laser pulses to measure land surface elevations, supports accurate water management and planting decisions.
• 4AG Robotics has raised CAD 40 million in Series B funding to expand its autonomous mushroom harvesting technology.
• The global mushroom sector, projected to exceed $ 70 billion by 2030, faces labour shortages and rising production costs.
HESAI Technology, a global leader in lidar sensor innovation, has announced that its JT series 3D lidar sensors will be integrated into new autonomous farming equipment developed by agricultural technology companies Agtonomy and Alpha Werke.
These collaborations aim to modernise agriculture by combining precision perception systems with automation, supporting the shift toward more efficient and sustainable farming methods.
As farms grapple with rising operational costs, labour shortages, and unpredictable climate patterns, many are turning to intelligent machines for support. Central to this movement is lidar- short for Light Detection and Ranging, which uses laser pulses to build detailed 3D maps of the environment.
These sensors provide the spatial awareness needed for machines to navigate farm terrain and perform tasks such as weeding, spraying, and hauling without human
FARMING MEETS LASERS: The Hesai JT series mini hemispherical 3D lidar pictured here.
intervention.
Hesai’ s JT series is designed specifically for robotics, offering strong performance in a compact form factor. It provides a 360-degree field of view, capable of scanning an area equivalent to two football fields. It delivers real-time 3D data that helps farming robots understand and interact with their surroundings. Its minimum detection range of
0 meters also allows machines to operate in close quarters with zero blind spots.
The JT series stands out not only for its perception power but also for its compact size- 70 per cent smaller than comparable models- and its durability. With waterproofing, shock resistance, and performance stability across a wide temperature range, the sensors are designed to withstand the rigours of demanding agricultural environments.
Agtonomy has already deployed Hesai’ s JT128 sensors into its autonomous tractors.
“ The seamless integration of Hesai’ s lidar into Agtonomyenabled tractors has significantly enhanced precision automation in agriculture,” said CEO and Co- Founder of Agtonomy Tim Bucher.
“ Paired with our software, they allow us to automate numerous tasks- delivering an affordable and scalable solution for modern farms.”
Meanwhile, Austria-based Alpha Werke is using Hesai’ s JT16 in its TracPilot system for challenging terrains.
“ Powered by Hesai’ s lidar, we’ re bringing autonomy to places GPS can’ t reach- dense forests, orchards, and solar farms,” said CEO Patrick Neuhauser.
With over 100,000 JT units already shipped as of mid-2025, Hesai’ s push into agricultural robotics marks a key step in redefining how farming is done, sensor by sensor.
Mushroom meets machines
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CANADIAN agritech firm 4AG Robotics has raised CAD 40 million( Canadian Dollars) in a Series B funding round to accelerate the global rollout of its autonomous mushroom harvesting technology.
The round was led by Astanor Ventures and Cibus Capital, with backing from new investor Voyager Capital and returning supporters, including InBC, Emmertech, and Stray Dog Capital. This brings the company’ s total funding to $ 57.5 million in just two years.
The funding comes at a time of increasing demand for automated solutions in agriculture. 4AG’ s mushroom-harvesting robots, already operating in Canada, Ireland, and Australia, will soon be rolled out in the United States and the Netherlands.
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“ This funding helps us leap from a start-up proving our product works to a scale-up manufacturer trying to keep pace with demand.
“ In just two and a half years, we’ ve gone from asking farms to trial our technology to having deposits for over 40 additional robots,” said 4AG Robotics CEO Sean O’ Connor.
The company’ s technology utilises AI-driven vision systems, suction-based grippers, and motion control to harvest, trim, and pack mushrooms 24 / 7 autonomously. It’ s designed to integrate directly into Dutch-rack farms without altering infrastructure, allowing growers to reduce labour costs, improve harvest consistency, and access real-time farm data.
“ What sets us apart is we are not just a theoretical robotics project
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that works in a controlled lab environment- it’ s the real-world experience and the systems thinking that is critical to working with the complexity of real farm environments,” said 4AG Robotics COO Chris Payne.
Backing the round, Astanor’ s Harry Briggs said:“ We believe that 4AG is not only the clear global leader today, but also has the potential, thanks to AI advances and their rich image data, to drive up yields and reduce inputs across the industry.”
Archie Burgess of Cibus Capital
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added:“ Mushroom farming presents an enormous opportunity to utilise robotics and AI to drive labour optimisation together with higher yields and improved quality.”
With this capital, 4AG aims to expand its manufacturing, grow its support teams, and develop advanced features such as AI-driven yield optimisation and disease detection.- @ AGROBiz
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