Robotriks Ltd

Robotriks Ltd is a robotics research and development company based in Par, Cornwall, England. It was set up in 2018 to apply modern technology to practical problems without excessive cost. Its services cover feasibility assessment of robotics concepts, rapid prototyping, functional design and R&D, alongside electronic and mechanical prototyping, machine vision and AI.

The company's main product is the RTU (current version RTUV4), an all-electric, tracked autonomous agricultural platform. Robotriks designed it to reduce soil compaction by staying small and light rather than scaling up to work whole fields in one pass. Each tracked traction unit is built mostly from aluminium and has mounting surfaces on the top, front and rear. The two units are joined by a truss frame of standard 48.3 mm scaffolding pipe, so width and height can be changed for different row spacings or vineyards. The traction units communicate wirelessly, which avoids exposed cables.

Robotriks quotes over 11 kW of brushless drive power, a top speed of 3 mph and enough battery capacity for more than 24 hours of continuous operation. The platform can be charged from mains or run off-grid. The company says its low centre of mass and wide footprint let it drive in any orientation on inclines up to 54 degrees. An autopilot is included with every unit, combining positioning from over 30 satellites with on-board sensors for accuracy of up to 11 mm. Optional RTK base stations help where sky visibility is limited, and missions can be launched and monitored from a computer, tablet or phone. The base unit is listed at GBP 7,500.

Add-on modules in development include an AI spray system that detects weeds near crops and sprays them directly, a sapling planter, a soil-sampling ram with interchangeable sensor heads, and an on-board compute unit that keeps data local without internet or subscription. Robotriks reports over 40 physical prototypes during development and coverage in more than 50 publications. The RTU has been photographed at the Eden Project in Cornwall.